Association between birth weight in preterm neonates and the BclI polymorphism of the glucocorticoid receptor gene

Endogenous and exogenous glucocorticoids influence fetal growth and development, and maternal administration of synthetic glucocorticoids may decrease the risk of perinatal morbidity including lung disease in preterm neonates. Because polymorphisms of the glucocorticoid receptor gene are known to influence the sensitivity to glucocorticoids, in the present study we examined whether any associations could exist among the BclI, N363S and ER22/23EK polymorphisms of the glucocorticoid receptor gene and gestational age, birth weight and/or perinatal morbidity of 125 preterm neonates born at 28–35 weeks’ gestation with (n = 57) or without maternal dexamethasone treatment (n = 68). The prevalence of the three polymorphisms in the whole group of preterm infants was similar to that reported in healthy adult Hungarian population. However, we found that the BclI polymorphism significantly associated with higher birth weight adjusted for the gestational age (p = 0.004, ANOVA analysis). None of the three polymorphisms showed an association with perinatal morbidities, including necrotizing enterocolitis, intraventricular hemorrhagia, patent ductus arteriosus, respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and sepsis in the two groups of preterm neonates with and without maternal dexamethasone treatment. These results suggest that the BclI polymorphism of the glucocorticoid receptor gene may have an impact on gestational age-adjusted birth weight, but it does not influence perinatal morbidities of preterm neonates.