Birth weight reference percentiles by gestational age for Turkish twin neonates

Abstract

In their interesting study, Yalin Imamoglu et al.1 created up-to-date, twin-specific birth weight nomograms for both genders that could serve as a reference for the neonatologists and pediatricians in Turkey to detect high-risk neonates and fetuses who require specialized health care. Yalin Imamoglu et al.1 addressed few study limitations. I assume that the following methodological limitation might affect the clinical relevance of the constructed nomograms. Among many determinants, parental ethnicity is an important determinant of birth weight, gestational age, and fetal growth in twin pregnancies.2 Birth weight nomograms for twins have been generated for certain multi-ethnic populations.3-4 Throughout its history, the land of Turkey has welcomed many ethnic groups and cultures. Modern Turkey was established on the land of the Ottoman Empire and took over a complex, rich multi-ethnic and multi-cultural structure.5 Regrettably, in the study methodology, Yalin Imamoglu et al.1 didn’t consider the ethnic background of the studied population. Hence, this limitation might curb the employment of the created nomograms in clinical and research settings. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.