title: Maternal height and the risk of preterm birth and low birth weight: a systematic review and meta-analyses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW) are the leading causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality, but the effect of maternal height on these outcomes continues to be debated. Our objective was to determine the relationships between maternal height and PTB and LBW.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medline and EMBASE were searched from their inceptions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Studies with a reference group that assessed the effect of maternal height on PTB (< 37 weeks) and LBW (< 2500 grams) in singletons were included.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were extracted independently by two reviewers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-six studies were included involving 333 505 women. In the cohort studies, the unadjusted risk of PTB in short-statured women was increased (relative risk [RR] 1.23; 95% CI 1.11 to 1.37), as was the unadjusted risk of LBW (RR 1.81; 95% CI 1.47 to 2.23), although not all of the studies with adjusted data found the same association. Maternal tall stature was not associated with PTB (unadjusted RR 0.97; 95% CI 0.82 to 1.14), although LBW was decreased (unadjusted RR 0.56; 95% CI 0.46 to 0.69), but not in the adjusted data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  From our complete systematic review and meta-analyses, to our knowledge the first in this area, we conclude that short-statured women have higher unadjusted risks of PTB and LBW and tall women have approximately one half the unadjusted risk of LBW of women of reference height.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiao Tong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton ON.
authors.forename: Olha
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lutsiv
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton ON.
authors.forename: Sohail
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mulla
authors.affiliation: Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Diagnostic Imaging, and Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton ON.
authors.forename: Sarah D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: McDonald
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016239:MEDLINE; D009035:Mothers; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000453:epidemiology*