Researchers have shown that a period of low oxygen during pregnancy, combined with a genetic risk factor of having only one functioning copy of a gene, dramatically increases the chances of a baby being born with congenital scoliosis.Hypoxia during pregnancy can be caused by a range of circumstances including poorly controlled sugar levels in diabetics, smoking, high altitude, prescription and recreational drug‐use, anemia or a poorly functioning placenta."This study provides a new paradigm for the interaction between our genes and environment, and may account for a lot of diseases that we haven't understood before, such as many different forms of congenital heart disease, and conditions like hair‐lip or cleft palate," says Graham.
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