A Comparison of Lipid and Lipoprotein B-100 (Apo B-100) Levels in the Umbilical Cord Blood of Male and Female Newborns and the Assessment of their impact on Neonatal Anthropometric Indices

Objectives: Controversial findings exist regarding the association between neonate gender and umbilical cord blood lipid levels. This study aims to compare the levels of lipids and lipoprotein B-100 in the umbilical cord blood of male and female newborns and assess the impact of these factors on neonatal anthropometric measurements. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 75 healthy, term (34 male and 41 female) newborns. A total of 5 ml of umbilical cord blood was obtained immediately after delivery and analyzed on the same day to estimate lipid concentrations and apolipoprotein B-100. Additionally, we measured and recorded neonatal anthropometric indicators. The independent sample t-test was used for comparison of mean values in the two groups. The relationship of cord blood lipid profile with anthropometric data was assessed by the Pearson correlation test and multiple linear regression. Results: The cord blood from female newborns had higher levels of low density lipoprotein- cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and total cholesterol (TC) compared to male newborns, whereas levels of lipoprotein B-100 and triglyceride (TG) were higher in males compared to female newborns. These differences were not statistically significant. In female newborns there was a significant inverse correlation between TG level and head circumference (P=0.038). In males, there was no statistically significant association between lipid levels and anthropometric parameters. Conclusion: Gender did not impact lipid and apolipoprotein B-100 levels in newborns. This study showed a significant inverse correlation between TG level and head circumference in female newborns.