title: Impact of maternal anaemia on birth outcomes of teen twin pregnancies: a comparative analysis with mature young mothers.
abstract: We investigated the impact of maternal anaemia on birth outcomes among adolescent twin pregnancies in the United States using the vital statistics records for matched multiple births covering the years 1995-1997 inclusive. The study group consisted of mothers aged 19 years or younger who had a twin pregnancy. A cohort of women aged 20-29 years with twin pregnancies served as the comparison group. The main birth outcomes of interest were: low and very low birth weight, preterm and very preterm delivery, small-for-gestational age, stillbirth, neonatal and perinatal mortality. Crude and adjusted odds ratios for the above outcomes were calculated using the generalised estimating equation framework (GEE) that captured both intra- and intercluster sources of heterogeneity. Although not statistically significant, we detected an elevated risk for stillbirth among anaemic women (20-30%) in either age cohort, a magnitude that is substantial at the population level as well as warranting further aetiological investigations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, University of Alabama, Birmingham 35294, USA.
authors.forename: M Nicole
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Shumpert
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Salihu
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Kirby
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000740:Anemia / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D001724:Birth Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D016015:Logistic Models; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature; D011247:Pregnancy; D011250:Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence; D011272:Pregnancy, Multiple; D011336:Probability; D012016:Reference Values; D012042:Registries; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014427:Twins; D014481:United States