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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1498125

Sex differences in delivery and neonatal characteristics of new-borns from the "MAMI-MED" cohort

Provisionally accepted
Roberta Magnano San Lio Roberta Magnano San Lio 1Martina Barchitta Martina Barchitta 1Andrea Maugeri Andrea Maugeri 1Elisabetta Campisi Elisabetta Campisi 1Giuliana Favara Giuliana Favara 1Claudia Ojeda-Granados Claudia Ojeda-Granados 1Claudia La Mastra Claudia La Mastra 1Maria Clara La Rosa Maria Clara La Rosa 1Fabiola Galvani Fabiola Galvani 2Elisa Pappalardo Elisa Pappalardo 2Carla Ettore Carla Ettore 2Giuseppe Ettore Giuseppe Ettore 2Antonella Agodi Antonella Agodi 1*
  • 1 Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies G.F. Ingrassia, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
  • 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Azienda di Rilievo Nazionale e di Alta Specializzazione (ARNAS) Garibaldi Nesima, Catania, Sicily, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Exploring modifiable and non-modifiable determinants-like sex of new-borns, maternal characteristics, and lifestyle-of maternal and child health is a priority in Public Health. Understanding these sex-based differences is essential for tailored care and informed public health policies. The present study aimed to delineate sex disparities in delivery and neonatal characteristics within the "MAMI MED" cohort, an ongoing prospective study involving mother-child pairs from Catania, Italy. The analysis included 1090 mother-child pairs. The comparison of birth weight and birth length distribution showed some differences between sexes (p<0.001), confirmed by higher birth weight (β = 0.121; 95% CI = 0.071-0.172; p < 0.001) and greater birth length (β = 0.659; 95% CI = 0.360-0.958; p < 0.001) in males compared to females. However, the comparison of small and adequate for gestational age (SGA vs. AGA) revealed that the likelihood of being SGA was higher in males than in females (OR = 1.592; 95% CI = 1.005-2.563; p = 0.045). Thus, the focus should be on improving the assessment of gender-based differences in diagnostic criteria and incorporating gender-specific aspects into existing preventive guidelines to deeply understand the effect of gender disparities and risk factors on maternal-child health

    Keywords: Pregnancy, sex differences, Neonatal outcomes, Birth Weight, Weight for gestational age, Maternal health

    Received: 18 Sep 2024; Accepted: 13 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Magnano San Lio, Barchitta, Maugeri, Campisi, Favara, Ojeda-Granados, La Mastra, La Rosa, Galvani, Pappalardo, Ettore, Ettore and Agodi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Antonella Agodi, Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies G.F. Ingrassia, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

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