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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
James W. Collins Jr, MD, MPH, Division of Neonatology, Children's Memorial Hospital, 2300 Children's Plaza, Chicago, IL 60614, 773-880-4142, jcollins@northwestern.edu, Nathalie A. Mendivil, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Memorial Hospital, 2300 Children's Plaza, Box 15, Chicago, IL 60614, Shou-Yien Wu, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Cook County Hospital, 1835 W. Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60612-9985, and Richard J. David, MD, Division of Neonatology, Cook County Hospital, 1835 W. Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60612-9985.
BACKGROUND. An extensive literature shows that pregnancy related variables fail to explain the maternal nativity disparity in infant low birth weight (< 2500g, LBW) rates among Mexican-Americans.
OBJECTIVE. To determine the relationship between generational minority status and infant birth weight among Mexican-Americans in Illinois.
METHODS. We created a transgenerational vital record dataset of infants born in Illinois between 1989-1991 and their mothers born in Illinois between 1956-1976.
RESULTS. The LBW rate was 6.5% for Mexican-American infants (N=2,122) of US-born mothers compared to 4.3% for Mexican-American infants (N=3,974) of Mexican-born mothers; RR=1.5 (1.2-1.8). The mean birth weight of Mexican-American infants with US-born mothers was 61g less than that of infants with Mexican-born mothers; 3262 vs. 3323g, respectively, p< 0.0001. The overall distribution of birth weights for Mexican-American infants of US-born mothers was shifted towards the lower end. Among the descendants of generation-one Mexican-born women, the LBW rate of generation-three infants is equalivent to that of their generation-two mothers; 5.2 % vs. 4.3%; RR=1.3 (0.9-1.6). Generation-three infants had a greater proportion of teenaged mothers than G-2 infants: 35.3% vs. 9.7%, respectively. Most striking, an intergenerational increase in LBW rates occurred among teenaged-mothers: 5.6% vs. 3.0%; RR=1.7 (1.1-2.3).
CONCLUSIONS. We conclude that infant LBW rates fail to decrease among the direct female descendants of Mexican-born women in Illinois. These findings suggest that the US-born Mexican-American infant’s birth weight disadvantage reflects the impact of a new social environment on maternal reproductive health which begins to express itself in a generation.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.