ReviewInternational journal of molecular sciences2021
Let's Talk about Placental Sex, Baby: Understanding Mechanisms That Drive Female- and Male-Specific Fetal Growth and Developmental Outcomes.
Review in International journal of molecular sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 91 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
91 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 152 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sex differences in the risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and pulmonary hypertension: a Bayesian meta-analysis.Pediatric research · 2025Pooled it
- Do nutritional interventions before or during pregnancy affect placental phenotype? Findings from a systematic review of human clinical trials.Journal of global health · 2024Pooled it
- Neonatal Hair Cortisol and Birth Outcomes: An Empirical Study and Meta-Analysis.Psychosomatic medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Prenatal stress and externalizing behaviors in childhood and adolescence: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychological bulletin · 2024Pooled it
- Atypical Preeclampsia before 20 Weeks of Gestation-A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- The equity and effectiveness of China's 2009 folic acid supplementation programme for long-term child development.Global health action · 2026Article
- Glucocorticoids in pregnancy: a master-switch for fetal maturation.Endocrine reviews · 2026Review
- IGF-1Eb Isoform Immunoreactivity May Be Associated with Placental Dysfunction and Vascular Pathology in Fetal Growth Restriction (FGR).Biomolecules · 2026Article
- Insights from animal models: Dissecting the independent roles of oxygen and nutrients in the fetal origins of cardiovascular disease.The Journal of physiology · 2026Review
- Maternal Nutritional Status and Intrauterine Programming: Epigenetic Mechanisms and Their Impact on Offspring Health.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Prenatal stress alters offspring neurovascular, autonomic, and immune development in animal models of neuropsychiatric and cardiometabolic disorders.Journal of neuroendocrinology · 2026Review
- [Disease burden and trends of preterm birth in China from 1990 to 2023].Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics · 2026Article
- Kisspeptin Restores Placental mTOR Signaling and Improves Glucose Homeostasis Mediators Disrupted by Maternal Hypothyroidism in Rats.Acta physiologica (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Maternal metabolic signatures at early gestation associated with birth weight and neurodevelopment in early childhood.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Sex-influenced DNA methylation differs by placental cell type.Biology of sex differences · 2026Article
- Placental iron transport under maternal stress: a missing link in foetal programming and mental health.EBioMedicine · 2026Article
- Fetal sex-specific differences in the placental transcriptome of gestational diabetes.Scientific reports · 2026Observational
- Sex-Specific Variation in Maternal Serum Screening Markers Across the First and Second Trimesters: Evidence from 10,384 Screened Pregnancies.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Examining the Impact of Preconception Physical Activity on Offspring Outcomes Linked to Obesity.Current obesity reports · 2026Review
- Article
31 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
It is well understood that sex differences exist between females and males even before they are born. These sex-dependent differences may contribute to altered growth and developmental outcomes for the fetus. Based on our initial observations in the human placenta, we hypothesised that the male prioritises growth pathways in order to maximise growth through to adulthood, thereby ensuring the greatest chance of reproductive success. However, this male-specific "evolutionary advantage" likely contributes to males being less adaptable to shifts in the in-utero environment, which then places them at a greater risk for intrauterine morbidities or mortality. Comparatively, females are more adaptable to changes in the in-utero environment at the cost of growth, which may reduce their risk of poor perinatal outcomes. The mechanisms that drive these sex-specific adaptations to a change in the in-utero environment remain unclear, but an increasing body of evidence within the field of developmental biology would suggest that alterations to placental function, as well as the feto-placental hormonal milieu, is an important contributing factor. Herein, we have addressed the current knowledge regarding sex-specific intrauterine growth differences and have examined how certain pregnancy complications may alter these female- and male-specific adaptations.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.