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An increase in the rate of gastroschisis (a congenital defect of the abdominal wall) has been noted in several population-based studies. Gastroschisis usually is a sporadic event and is thought to be related to vascular compromise in the developing fetus. In a case-control study, researchers examined whether change of paternity might be a risk factor for gastroschisis.
Pregnancies of 102 mothers of infants with isolated gastroschisis were compared with pregnancies of 117 mothers of non-malformed infants and 78 mothers of infants with neural tube defects or oral clefts. Change of paternity was significantly more common among case mothers than among mothers in the comparison groups. In multivariate analysis adjusted for maternal age, the odds …