Review
Obstetrics
Paternal factors and low birthweight, preterm, and small for gestational age births: a systematic review

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2009.08.026Get rights and content

A systematic review of the risks of a low birthweight (LBW), preterm, and small-for-gestational-age births in relation to paternal factors was performed. Medline, Embase, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and bibliographies of identified articles were searched for English-language studies. Study qualities were assessed according to a predefined checklist. Thirty-six studies of low-to-moderate risk of bias were reviewed for various paternal factors: age, height, weight, birthweight, occupation, education, and alcohol use. Extreme paternal age was associated with higher risk for LBW. Among infants who were born to tall fathers, birthweight was approximately 125-150 g higher compared with infants who were born to short fathers. Paternal LBW was associated with lower birthweight of the offspring. In conclusion, paternal characteristics including age, height, and birthweight are associated with LBW. Paternal occupational exposure and low levels of education may be associated with LBW; however, further studies are needed.

Section snippets

Materials and Methods

The data were extracted from published articles; therefore, no ethical approval was obtained.

Description of studies

Thirty-eight studies were included in this review.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 Some of the included studies reported on >1 paternal factor. Paternal alcohol use was identified as an exposure during the literature review (which was not planned a priori). Eleven studies were excluded after detailed evaluation. Details of included studies and reasons for excluded studies are given

Comment

In this systematic review of 36 studies on paternal factors and birth outcomes, certain positive and negative associations were observed. Extreme paternal ages (<20 and >40 years) may be associated with LBW; however, no consistent associations with PTBs and SGA births were identified. Paternal height and paternal occupational exposure to lead were associated with LBW and birthweight of the offspring. The infant's birthweight increased with a higher paternal birthweight. Paternal weight, body

Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank Elizabeth Uleryk, Chief Librarian at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, for her contribution in developing search strategy and running searches on a periodic basis, for which she did not receive any compensation. Contributors: guarantor: Shah PS; grant concept and design: all members of the group; study concept and design: Shah PS; acquisition of data, analysis, and interpretation of data, drafting of the manuscript: Shah PS; critical revision of the manuscript for

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    This study was supported by funding from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) Knowledge Synthesis/Translation Grant no. KRS 86242. The CIHR has played no role in the analyses, the writing of the report, the interpretation of data, or the decision to submit the manuscript.

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