Association of education and the occurrence of low birthweight in rural southern China during the early and late 1990s.
OBJECTIVE
We examined whether education-related inequalities were associated with the occurrence of low birthweight in 6 counties in southern China in the early and late 1990s.


METHODS
The study population consisted of 111,181 women (65,669 in the early 1990s and 45,482 in the late 1990s) in a population-based Perinatal Health Care Surveillance System. We used the chi(2) test, logistic regression, and concentration index for our analyses.


RESULTS
From the early to late 1990s, the mean maternal education level increased significantly, and the percentage of low-birthweight births declined among all groups, for both male and female births, and at all levels of the mother's education. Relative to those with less than 9 years of formal education, there was a decreasing risk of low birthweight among those with 9 to 11 years of formal education (range in adjusted odds ratio=0.69-0.82) and with 12 or more years of formal education (range in adjusted odds ratio=0.51-0.74). Between the early and late 1990s, the concentration index changed from -0.0778 to -0.0656 for male births and from -0.0717 to -0.0813 for female births.


CONCLUSIONS
Education-related inequalities associated with low birthweight persisted from the early to the late 1990s in surveyed areas.
Liu
Yinghui
Y
Institute of Reproductive and Child Health, Peking University, 38 College Rd, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China. liuyh@ncmih.bjmu.edu.cn
Liu
Jianmeng
J
Ye
Rongwei
R
Ren
Aiguo
A
Li
Song
S
Li
Zhu
Z
D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors