title: Relation of maternal race to the risk of preterm, non-low birth weight infants: a population study.
abstract: The authors used 1982-1983 Illinois vital records and 1980 US Census income data to determine the contribution of maternal race to the risk of preterm (< 260 days), non-low birth weight (> 2,500 g) infants. This older cohort was chosen to avoid the confounding effect of cocaine associated with its increased local availability after 1985. In Chicago, the unadjusted preterm, non-low birth weight rate was 14% for African Americans (n = 43,059) compared with 9% for Mexican Americans (n = 10,397) and 7% for whites (n = 26,152) (odds ratio = 1.7, 95% confidence interval 1.6-1.8; odds ratio = 2.4, 95% confidence interval 2.3-2.5, respectively). In logistic models that included maternal sociodemographic and prenatal care variables, the adjusted odds ratio of preterm, non-low birth weight for. African Americans compared with Mexican Americans and whites was 1.6 (95% confidence interval 1.4-1.8) and 1.5 (95% confidence interval 1.2-1.7), respectively. The authors conclude that some factor closely linked to the African-American race, not underserved minority status per se, is a fundamental cause of preterm, non-low birth weight.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Medical School, IL, USA.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Hammond
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People; D002641:Chicago / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D017058:Mexican Americans; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American