Placental 11b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase expression and birth weight in Hamilton County, TN

Infants born below 2,500 grams are classified as low birth w eight. Reduced birth weight has been shown to increase the risk of infant mortality and chronic adulthood diseases. In 2007, Hamilton Country reported 12.0% of live births to be low birth weight, compared to the state average of 9.4%. An excess in utero exposure to cortisol has been linked to restricted fetal growth. Placental production of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11β-HSD2) inactivates cortisol before passage into the fetus. This study tests the hypothesis that increased placental 11β-HSD2 expression has a positive correlation with an individualized birth weight centile. A Spearman\u27s rank correlation reported a significant correlation between these two variables (p = 0.024). Additionally, birth weight was significantly different between underweight and obese mothers, married vs. single mothers and black vs. white mothers. These results reinforce the importance of proper 11β-HSD2 expression for optimal fetal growth