Race, ethnicity and birth-weight: Hawaii 1983 to 1986.
A study of racial/ethnic-specific mean infant birth-weights reported on 1968 to 1972 live birth-weight certificates for Oahu, Hawaii is reviewed here. The 1983 to 1986 data confirm those earlier results: (a) The Hawaiian group is significantly heavier in mean birth-weights than other cohorts during the preterm period (33 to 36 weeks gestational age); (b) statistically significant differences also were present in mean birth-weights for the term and post-term periods (37 to 45 weeks gestational age); and (c) the ranking of cohorts from heaviest to lightest in mean birth-weights is Caucasian, Hawaiian, Japanese and Filipino respectively. The data raises 2 questions: (1) Which birth-weight standards are most applicable for Asian and Pacific Islanders; and (2) what are the implications of the race/ethnic-specific mean birth-weight differences relative to mortality, morbidity and developmental outcome?
Crowell
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DH
Department of Pediatrics, John A Burns School of Medicine, Straub Clinic & Hospital, University of Hawaii, Honolulu.
McGee
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RI
Seto
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D
Sharma
S D
SD
Dunn-Rankin
P
P
D001724:Birth Weight; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006254:Hawaii; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007564:Japan / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D010679:Philippines / Q000208:ethnology; D044469:Racial Groups; D044465:White People