Systematic review: Is there a connection between the fetal growth restriction due to placental insufficiency and hypospadias in single pregnancies?

• Autor(a) principal: Ana Carolina Freitas Ribeiro
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://hdl.handle.net/10216/150276
• topic: Medicina clínica; Clinical medicine

Introduction: The origin of hypospadias is uncertain and thought to involve genetic and environmental factors. Our aim is to comprehend the correlation between fetal growth restriction (FGR) due to placental insufficiency and hypospadias in single pregnancies. Material and Methods: We performed a systematic review searching on PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases. Articles evaluating the association between fetal growth restriction due to placental insufficiency and hypospadias in single pregnancies are included. A total of 12 studies were included, and their relevant data were extracted and qualitatively analyzed. The risk of bias was measured using the NIH Study Quality Assessment Tool. Results: Seven articles reported that fetal growth restriction and small for gestational age are important risk factors for the development of hypospadias. Four studies concluded that low birthweight is associated with the higher prevalence of hypospadias. Only one study found no significant differences between the birthweight of boys with and without hypospadias. In four studies anatomopathological evaluations of the placenta was performed, and in all signs of placenta dysfunction was more frequent in infants with hypospadias. Five studies evaluated the weight of placenta, and concluded that weight of placenta of boys with hypospadias was lower than weight of placenta of healthy boys. Two studies found preeclampsia as a risk factor for hypospadias. Discussion: Our results highlight fetal growth restriction as a potential cause of increased prevalence of hypospadias. Placental dysfunction may be the underlying mechanism, considering that children with hypospadias, in addition to having lower birthweight, also had placenta with lower weight and more anomalies. The major limitations of our review are the differences in methodology of the studies included, most of them conducted several years ago. Conclusion: Our systematic review confirms an association between fetal growth restriction and hypospadias.