Paternal race is a risk factor for preterm birth.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that paternal race influences the risk for preterm birth.


METHODS
We conducted a population-based cohort study to examine the association of paternal race with preterm birth using the Missouri Department of Health's birth registry from 1989-1997. Birth outcomes were analyzed in 4 categories: white mother/white father, white mother/black father, black mother/white father, and black mother/ black father.


RESULTS
We evaluated 527,845 birth records. The risk of preterm birth at <35 weeks of gestation increased when either parent was black (white mother/black father: adjusted odds ratio, 1.28 [95% CI, 1.13, 1.46], black mother/white father: adjusted odds ratio, 2.10 [95% CI, 1.68, 2.62], and black mother/black father: adjusted odds ratio, 2.28 [95% CI, 2.18, 2.39]) and was even higher for extreme preterm birth (<28 weeks of gestation) in pregnancies with a nonwhite parent.


CONCLUSIONS
Paternal black race is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth in white mothers, which suggests a paternal contribution to fetal genotype that ultimately influences the risk for preterm delivery.
Palomar
Lisanne
L
Department of Pediatrics, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
DeFranco
Emily A
EA
Lee
Kirstin A
KA
Allsworth
Jenifer E
JE
Muglia
Louis J
LJ
D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005220:Fathers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors