Prognostic significance of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in cervical cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Downstream of the primary cause of fetal growth restriction are placental insufficiency and fetal malnutrition. Gut microbiota and metabolites appear to play an important role in the progression of gestation, while dysbiosis induces maternal and fetal complications.

Since the evidence regarding the association between maternal hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and impaired intrauterine fetal growth had not been conclusive, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the risk of maternal HCV infection in association with intrauterine fetal growth restriction (IUGR) and/or low birth weight infants (LBW). We performed an extensive literature search of PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE through December 1, 2015. The odds ratios (ORs) of HCV infection and IUGR/LBW were calculated and reported with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Statistical analysis was performed using RevMen 5.3 and Stata 10.0. Seven studies involving 4,185,414 participants and 5094 HCV infection cases were included. Significant associations between HCV infection and IUGR (OR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.40-1.68, fixed effect model) as well as LBW were observed (OR = 1.97, 95% CI: 1.43-2.71, random effect model). The results still indicated consistencies after adjusting for multiple risk factors which could affect fetal growth, including maternal age, parity, maternal smoking, alcohol abuse, drugs abuse, coinfected with HBV/HIV and preeclampsia. Our findings suggested that maternal HCV infection was significantly associated with an increased risk of impaired intrauterine fetal growth. In clinical practice, a closer monitoring of intrauterine fetal growth by a series of ultrasound might be necessary for HCV-infected pregnant population.

// <![CDATA[ $('.header-date').hide();$('#titleAuthors').hide();$('#abstractHeader').hide(); // ]]> Ruo-Ting Xu1, 2, *, Qing-Xian Chang3, *, Qi-Qiong Wang4, Jian Zhang5, Lai-Xin Xia6, Nanbert Zhong3, 7, 8, Yan-Hong Yu3, Mei Zhong3 and Qi-Tao Huang3 1Department of Neurology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China 2First School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China 4Department of Neonatology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China 5Department of Medical Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China 6Department of Developmental Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China 7March of Dimes Global Network for Maternal and Infant Health, White Plains, NY, USA 8Department of Human Genetics, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, USA *These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Qi-Tao Huang, email: 15920454515@163.com Mei Zhong, email: zhongm1960@163.com Keywords: autism; childhood; pre-eclampsia; hypertensive disorders of pregnancy Received: June 05, 2017 Accepted: September 21, 2017 Published: December 07, 2017 ABSTRACT Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common severe pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder of undetermined etiology. Environmental exposures, especially pregnancy complications, have been increasingly recognized as a potential risk factor for ASD. Our aim was to (1) systematically evaluate the association between hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and the risk of ASD in offspring, (2) specifically draw a subgroup analysis of disease severity in patients with HDP to achieve more sufficient evidence on this issue. Results: A total of 21 studies were identified with more than 6.5 million participants, including 31,027 ASD probands. A comparative meta-analysis established that offspring born premature to HDP were significantly associated with ASD than matched controls (OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.34–1.50). Subgroup analysis of clinical classification include: (1) gestational hypertension, (2) pre-eclampsia, (3) chronic hypertension complicating pregnancy (CHP). The offspring of mothers with pre-eclampsia and CHP have slightly higher risk (OR = 1.43; OR = 1.48, respectively) of ASD than those of mothers with gestational hypertension (OR = 1.37). In consistence with most previous researches, higher ASD prevalence was observed in male than female (OR = 1.38), indicating a potential role for gender in the pathophysiology of ASD. Materials and Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search on PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, PsycINFO database and China National Knowledge Infrastructure up to Jun. 2017. Statistical analysis was performed using Stata 10.0. Conclusions: This meta-analysis implies a possible link between HDP and the risk of ASD in offspring. However, further investigation should be conducted to confirm this conclusion, and intensive prenatal surveillance and early prediction for ASD is needed.