Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
The Rosie Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK.
Prenat Diagn. 2019 Jun;39(7):527-535. doi: 10.1002/pd.5459. Epub 2019 May 10.
This study measured anogenital distance (AGD) during late second/early third trimester of pregnancy to confirm previous findings that AGD can be measured noninvasively in the fetus using ultrasound and further showed differences in reference ranges between populations.
Two hundred ten singleton pregnancies were recruited at the Rosie Hospital, Cambridge, UK. A 2D ultrasound was performed between 26 and 30 weeks of pregnancy. AGD was measured from the centre of the anus to the base of the scrotum in males and to the posterior convergence of the fourchette in females.
A significant difference in AGD between males and females (P < .0001) was found, replicating previous results with a significant correlation between estimated fetal weight (EFW) and AGD in males only (P = .006). A comparison of AGD using reference data from an Israeli sample (n = 118) and our UK sample (n = 208) showed a significant difference (P < .0001) in both males and females, after controlling for gestational age (GA).
Our results confirm that AGD measurement in utero using ultrasound is feasible. In addition, there are strong sex differences, consistent with previous suggestions that AGD is influenced by prenatal androgen exposure. AGD lengths differ between the UK and Israel; therefore, population-specific normative values may be required for accurate clinical assessments.
本研究在妊娠晚期/孕早期第三阶段测量肛殖距(AGD),以证实先前的研究结果,即可以使用超声无创地测量胎儿的 AGD,并进一步显示不同人群之间参考范围的差异。
在英国剑桥的罗西医院招募了 210 例单胎妊娠。在妊娠 26 至 30 周之间进行二维超声检查。在男性中,从肛门中心到阴囊基部,在女性中,从会阴后缘的四个顶点测量 AGD。
男性和女性之间的 AGD 存在显著差异(P<0.0001),这与先前的结果一致,并且仅在男性中发现估计胎儿体重(EFW)与 AGD 之间存在显著相关性(P=0.006)。使用来自以色列样本(n=118)和我们的英国样本(n=208)的参考数据比较 AGD 时,在控制孕龄(GA)后,男性和女性均存在显著差异(P<0.0001)。
我们的结果证实,使用超声在子宫内测量 AGD 是可行的。此外,存在强烈的性别差异,这与先前关于 AGD 受产前雄激素暴露影响的建议一致。英国和以色列之间的 AGD 长度存在差异;因此,可能需要特定人群的正常值来进行准确的临床评估。