A CYTOGENETIC STUDY OF 514 CHINESE COUPLES WITH RECURRENT SPONTANEOUS-ABORTION

Objective. To study the role of chromosomal aberration in the causatio n of recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) in Chinese population. Metho ds. A total of 514 Chinese couples with 2 or more spontaneous abortion s at less than 24 weeks of gestation were included. For each proband, a minimum of 13 metaphases were analyzed by G-banding. Additional cell s (usually 50-100 cells) were screened when mosaicism was suspected. X (2) test was used to compare the number and frequency of couples with and without balanced translocation with respect to whether liveborn wa s present or absent. X(2) test for trend was used to show whether a co rrelation existed between the occurrence of balanced translocation and the number of spontaneous abortions at ascertainment. Results. The ov erall incidence of chromosome anomaly was 51 out of 514 (9.92%). X(2) test for trend analysis showed that the chance of one member of a coup le being a balanced carrier increased with the number of spontaneous a bortions. The chance of finding translocation in couples with liveborn was higher than that in couples without liveborn, but the difference was not statistically significant. We also found that pericentric inve rsion 9 did not play an important role in the causation of recurrent a bortion. Conclusions, Cytogenetic analysis is indicated in couples wit h 2 or more spontaneous abortions and the chance of finding chromosoma l aberration increases with the number of abortions at the time of asc ertainment.