240085 How daddy affects? Influences of paternal age and education on prenatal visits and pregnancy outcomes

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Wen-Yi Lin , School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
Herng-Ching Lin, PhD , School of Health Care Administration, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan
Hung-Yi Chiou, PhD , School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
Chun-Sen Hsu, MD , Department of the obstetrics and gynecology, Taipei Municipal Wan-Fang Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
Yi-Hua Chen, PhD , School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
Objective: The important role of paternal characteristics in pregnancy outcomes has recently been proposed; however, paternal effects have seldom been taken into consideration in prenatal visits. Very few is addressed on the influences of paternal education on perinatal health. This study thus aimed to examine the effects of paternal age and education on prenatal visits and pregnancy outcomes, using a nationwide population-based dataset. Study design: This study used data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. A total of 213,206 singleton births in Taiwan in 2005 were retrieved and followed till fetal birth. Multivariate logistic regression models were performed, with the simultaneous consideration on characteristics of the father, the mother, the infant and family monthly income. Results: We found that fathers with education level lower than high school were associated with inadequate prenatal visits (less than 6 times) (OR=1.2, 95%CI=(1.1-1.3)) and late for the first prenatal visit (with the first visit >20th gestational week) (OR=1.5, 95%CI=(1.4-1.6)), irrespective of family income and maternal or pregnancy-specific factors. Compared with those with high school education, fathers with lower education independently experienced increased risks of having a newborn with very low birthweight (OR=1.4, 95%CI=(1.1-1.7)), low birthweight (OR=1.2, 95%CI=(1.1-1.3)), preterm birth (OR=1.2, 95%CI=(1.1-1.3)), and small for gestational age (OR=1.2, 95%CI=(1.1-1.4)). Furthermore, paternal age younger than 25 was associated with inadequate prenatal visits and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Conclusion: More attention should be paid to paternal effects in affecting inadequate prenatal care and adverse pregnancy outcomes, for the health of mothers and babies.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology
Provision of health care to the public
Public health administration or related administration
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
1. Evaluate effects of paternal age on inadequate prenatal visits and adverse pregnancy outcomes. 2. Evaluate effects of paternal education on inadequate prenatal visits and adverse pregnancy outcomes. 3. Discuss the concerns of promoting maternal and child health and perinatal health through intervention and consideration on paternal characteristics (e.g., age, and education).

Keywords: Birth Outcomes, Prenatal Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I supervised this project as a PI.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.