Comparison of maternal and newborn outcomes of Tibetan and Han Chinese delivering in Lhasa, Tibet.
OBJECTIVE
To compare maternal and neonatal outcomes of Tibetan and Han Chinese women delivering vaginally at high altitude (3650 meters) in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China.


METHODS
Comparative analysis of data from a prospective observational study of Tibetan (n = 938) and Han Chinese (n = 146) women delivering at three hospitals between January 2004 and May 2005.


RESULTS
Han Chinese women had higher rates of pre-eclampsia/gestational hypertension than Tibetan women, (10.3% vs 5.9%, P = 0.04). There was no difference in rates of postpartum hemorrhage between Tibetan and Han women (12.8% vs 17.1%, P = 0.15). Han newborns weighed significantly less than Tibetan newborns (P < 0.01), and were twice as likely to be small for gestational age, (24.5% vs 11.6%, P < 0.01). Tibetan newborns were less likely to have poor neonatal outcomes than Han newborns (P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
In high altitude deliveries in Tibet, adverse outcomes were significantly more common among Han Chinese.
Miller
Suellen
S
Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA. suellenmiller@gmail.com
Tudor
Carrie
C
Thorsten
Vanessa
V
Wright
Linda
L
Varner
Michael
M
D000328:Adult; D000531:Altitude; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D006473:Postpartum Hemorrhage / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018609:Tibet / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult