Background: The American melting pot has seen an increasing prevalence of children from different race/ethnic backgrounds. The incidence of low birthweight varies among maternal race/ethnic groups, but is largely unstudied among infants born to parents of dissimilar race/ethnic background. We conducted a descriptive epidemiologic study to assess the relative risk of low birthweight among infants born to parents of heterogeneous race/ethnicity. Methods: Parents were classified as White, African American, Native American, Asian/Pacific Islander or Hispanic based on maternal declarations on birth certificates in 1,017,981 singleton births to California residents during 1997-98. Percent of low birthweight infants and crude risks relative to White/White parents were calculated for all other parental pairings. Results: 19.2% of all births involved parents of heterogeneous race/ethnicity. When compared to all race/ethnically homogenous parents, infants of heterogeneous parents had a slightly elevated risk for low birthweight (RR=1.16; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.19). However, when specific subgroups were compared to a White/White referent group, considerable variability was found for low birthweight risk among specific heterogeneous subgroups. This ranged from 1.08 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.10) among Hispanic mothers/White fathers to 2.71 (95% CI, 1.29 to 3.34) among African American mothers/Native American fathers. Further analyses adjusting for socio-economic status are planned. Conclusions: Within any specific maternal race/ethnic subgroup, varying father’s heterogeneous race/ethnicity appears to differentially modify the risk for low birthweight. With its diverse population, California may reflect future trends in parental race/ethnic heterogeneity. Our study may be helpful in identifying risks for low birthweight among race/ethnically heterogeneous couples.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation the participant should be able to: 1. Describe the risks for low birthweight among infants born to race/ethnically similar and dissimilar parents. 2. Identify the varying relative risks of low birthweight among the subgroups of parents who are race/ethnically dissimilar. 3. Discuss underlying factors that may contribute to differential low birthweight outcomes among race/ethnically heterogeneous parents
Keywords: Low Birthweight, Prevention
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.