Feldkamp ML, et al. - In this population-based case-control study involving mothers of 1366 gastroschisis [a severe abdominal defect in which the midgut prolapses outside the abdominal cavity, usually on the right, adjacent to the umbilical cord] cases and 11,238 healthy controls, researchers evaluated the correlation between occurrence and timing of maternal self-reported genitourinary tract infection (urinary tract infections [UTIs] and/or sexually transmitted infection [STI]) and risk for gastroschisis in the offspring. During the periconceptional period (defined as 3 months prior to 3 months after conception), genitourinary infections were frequent in case (19.3%) and control women (9.9%). Investigators found that the risk was highest among women <20 years of age with an STI before conception and in women ≥25 years of age, the risk was comparable for before and after conception. According to findings, UTI and/or STI were related to increased risk of gastroschisis, with association strength varying depending on maternal age and infection timing.