Generalisability of Maternal Genetic Risk Score for Birth Weight Across Racial Identity and Ancestry: A Secondary Analysis of a Prospective Cohort Study
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: ), derived from participants of predominantly European ancestry, within a diverse U.S. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a prospective observational cohort of nulliparous patients. SETTING: Eight U.S. recruitment centers. POPULATION OR SAMPLE: Participants in the parent study with available maternal DNA. METHODS: with infant birth weight. We then assessed the robustness of the association by self-identified race and genetically predicted continental ancestry (GPA) groups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Birth weight. RESULTS: was positively associated with birth weight (p < 0.001). Across self-identified racial groups, the association was significant in White (n = 5394, mean ratio 1.04, 95% CI 0.97-1.11, p = 0.007) and multiracial (n = 508, mean ratio 1.10, CI 1.01-1.2, p = 0.03) groups but not in Black (n = 1139), Asian (n = 358), or unknown race groups (p > 0.09 for all). Among GPA groups, the association was significant among European (mean ratio 1.04, CI 1.02-1.07, p = 0.001) and American (mean ratio 1.08, CI 1.01-1.14, p = 0.02) ancestry groups but not African, East or South Asian, or unknown ancestry (p > 0.05 for all). CONCLUSIONS: is not generalisable across self-described racial identities or GPA groups, highlighting the need for globally representative genetic discovery cohorts as well as further investigation into the complex role of race, ethnicity, and epigenetic influences on foetal growth.
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $5,190
Awards: Individualization of Fetal Growth Assessment using Maternal Genetics and Explainable AI, G1225571146, From genomics to natural language processing: A protected environment for research computing in the health science, G18737246, Preterm Birth in Nulliparous Women: An Understudied Population at Great Risk, G2624504203, Preterm Birth in Nulliparous Women: An Understudied Population at Great Risk, Preterm Birth in Nulliparous Women: An Understudied Population at Great Risk , University of Utah Center for Clinical and Translational Science-UL1, G5131427437, Utah Center for Clinical and Translational Science, G6149027965, G6866478712, Preterm Birth in Nulliparous Women: An Understudied Population at Great Risk, G8087885022, G8275088249, G87763500, Dissecting the Genetic Etiology of Preterm Birth in Nulliparous Women, G9000056605, G9000234238, G9000250686, G9000342030
OpenAlex ID: W4416837245