Effect of the interval between pregnancies on perinatal outcomes. (1/295)

BACKGROUND: A short interval between pregnancies has been associated with adverse perinatal outcomes. Whether that association is due to confounding by other risk factors, such as maternal age, socioeconomic status, and reproductive history, is unknown. METHODS: We evaluated the interpregnancy interval in relation to low birth weight, preterm birth, and small size for gestational age by analyzing data from the birth certificates of 173,205 singleton infants born alive to multiparous mothers in Utah from 1989 to 1996. RESULTS: Infants conceived 18 to 23 months after a previous live birth had the lowest risks of adverse perinatal outcomes; shorter and longer interpregnancy intervals were associated with higher risks. These associations persisted when the data were stratified according to and controlled for 16 biologic, sociodemographic, and behavioral risk factors. As compared with infants conceived 18 to 23 months after a live birth, infants conceived less than 6 months after a live birth had odds ratios of 1.4 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.3 to 1.6) for low birth weight, 1.4 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.3 to 1.5) for preterm birth, and 1.3 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.2 to 1.4) for small size for gestational age; infants conceived 120 months or more after a live birth had odds ratios of 2.0 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.7 to 2.4);1.5 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.3 to 1.7), and 1.8 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.6 to 2.0) for these three adverse outcomes, respectively, when we controlled for all 16 risk factors with logistic regression. CONCLUSIONS: The optimal interpregnancy interval for preventing adverse perinatal outcomes is 18 to 23 months.  (+info)

Maternal smoking and Down syndrome: the confounding effect of maternal age. (2/295)

Inconsistent results have been reported from studies evaluating the association of maternal smoking with birth of a Down syndrome child. Control of known risk factors, particularly maternal age, has also varied across studies. By using a population-based case-control design (775 Down syndrome cases and 7,750 normal controls) and Washington State birth record data for 1984-1994, the authors examined this hypothesized association and found a crude odds ratio of 0.80 (95% confidence interval 0.65-0.98). Controlling for broad categories of maternal age (<35 years, > or =35 years), as described in prior studies, resulted in a negative association (odds ratio = 0.87, 95% confidence interval 0.71-1.07). However, controlling for exact year of maternal age in conjunction with race and parity resulted in no association (odds ratio = 1.00, 95% confidence interval 0.82-1.24). In this study, the prevalence of Down syndrome births increased with increasing maternal age, whereas among controls the reported prevalence of smoking during pregnancy decreased with increasing maternal age. There is a substantial potential for residual confounding by maternal age in studies of maternal smoking and Down syndrome. After adequately controlling for maternal age in this study, the authors found no clear relation between maternal smoking and the risk of Down syndrome.  (+info)

Low-weight neonatal survival paradox in the Czech Republic. (3/295)

Analysis of vital statistics for the Czech Republic between 1986 and 1993, including 3,254 infant deaths from 350,978 first births to married and single women who conceived at ages 18-29 years, revealed a neonatal survival advantage for low-weight infants born to disadvantaged (single, less educated) women, particularly for deaths from congenital anomalies. This advantage largely disappeared after the neonatal period. The same patterns have been observed for low-weight infants born to black women in the United States. Since the Czech Republic had an ethnically homogenous population, virtually universal prenatal care, and uniform institutional conditions for delivery, Czech results must be attributed to social rather than to biologic or medical circumstances. This strengthens the contention that in the United States, the black neonatal survival paradox may be due as much to race-related social stigmatization and consequent disadvantage as to any hypothesized hereditary influences on birth-weight-specific survival.  (+info)

The impact of a simulated immunization registry on perceived childhood immunization status. (4/295)

We developed a simulated immunization registry to assess the impact on the perceived immunization status in a population-based sample of 2-year-olds living in Olmsted County, MN, in 1995. We compiled records of all immunizations by abstracting immunization data from all medical care facilities in the county. The data collected from each facility were analyzed separately to provide the immunization rate as perceived by each facility. This perceived rate was compared to the rate obtained by combining all recorded immunizations from all facilities (simulated registry). Information on children not receiving any carefrom facilities in Olmsted County was compiled from birth certificate data and community school lists. Data from the simulated registry indicated that 69.1% of all children in Olmsted County with medical records were up-to-date on their immunizations by 20 months of age. By 24 months, this increased to 74.2%. The immunization rate of 24-month-old children recorded at individual healthcare facilities in Olmsted County ranged from 24.3% to 79.5%. The addition of data from the simulated registry increased the immunization rate at each site: a 27.7% relative increase in the site with the lowest recorded immunization rate, a 14.0% increase in the site with the intermediate immunization rate, and a 6.9% increase in the site with the highest internally perceived immunization rate. The registry also identified excess immunizations in 5% of the county's 2-year-olds. Each healthcare facility in this community gained an immediate benefit from the development of a simulated immunization registry. This immediate improvement in one quality-of-care measure (up-to-date immunization rate) should be factored into the cost/benefit assessment of immunization registries.  (+info)

Consanguinity and recurrence risk of stillbirth and infant death. (5/295)

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to estimate the recurrence risk for stillbirth and infant death and compare results for offspring of first-cousin parents with results for offspring of unrelated parents. METHODS: The study population consisted of all single births with a previous sibling born in Norway between 1967 and 1994. Altogether, 629,888 births were to unrelated parents, and 3466 births were to parents who were first cousins. The risk of stillbirth and infant death was estimated for subsequent siblings contingent on parental consanguinity and survival of the previous sibling. RESULTS: For unrelated parents, the risk of early death (stillbirth plus infant death) for the subsequent sibling was 17 of 1000 if the previous child survived and 67 of 1000 if the previous child died before 1 year of age. For parents who were first cousins, the risk of early death for the subsequent sibling was 29 of 1000 if the previous child survived and 116 of 1000 if the previous child died. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of recurrence of stillbirth and infant death is higher for offspring of first-cousin parents compared with offspring of unrelated parents.  (+info)

Method of linking Medicaid records to birth certificates may affect infant outcome statistics. (6/295)

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed how different methods of matching Medicaid records to birth certificates affect Medicaid infant outcome statistics. METHODS: Claims paid by Medicaid for hospitalization of the newborn and for the mother's delivery were matched separately to 1995 North Carolina live birth certificates. RESULTS: Infant mortality and low-birthweight rates were consistently lower when Medicaid was defined by a matching newborn hospitalization record than when results were based on a matching Medicaid delivery record. CONCLUSIONS: Studies of birth outcomes in the Medicaid population may have variable results depending on the method of matching that is used to identify Medicaid births.  (+info)

Maternal placental abnormality and the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. (7/295)

To determine whether placental abnormality (placental abruption or placental previa) during pregnancy predisposes an infant to a high risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the authors conducted a population-based case-control study using 1989-1991 California linked birth and death certificate data. They identified 2,107 SIDS cases, 96% of whom were diagnosed through autopsy. Ten controls were randomly selected for each case from the same linked birth-death certificate data, matched to the case on year of birth. About 1.4% of mothers of cases and 0.7% of mothers of controls had either placental abruption or placenta previa during the index pregnancy. After adjustment for potential confounders, placental abnormality during pregnancy was associated with a twofold increase in the risk of SIDS in offspring (odds ratio = 2.1, 95% confidence interval 1.3-3.1). The individual effects of placental abruption and placenta previa on the risk of SIDS did not differ significantly. An impaired fetal development due to placental abnormality may predispose an infant to a high risk of SIDS.  (+info)

Maternal cigarette smoking and invasive meningococcal disease: a cohort study among young children in metropolitan Atlanta, 1989-1996. (8/295)

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the association between maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy and the risk of invasive meningococcal disease during early childhood. METHODS: Using a retrospective cohort study design, cases from an active surveillance project monitoring all invasive meningococcal disease in the metropolitan Atlanta area from 1989 to 1995 were merged with linked birth and death certificate data files. Children who had not died or acquired meningococcal disease were assumed to be alive and free of the illness. The Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to assess the independent association between maternal smoking and meningococcal disease. RESULTS: The crude rate of meningococcal disease was 5 times higher for children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy than for children whose mothers did not smoke (0.05% vs 0.01%). Multivariate analysis revealed that maternal smoking (risk ratio [RR] = 2.9; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.5, 5.7) and a mother's having fewer than 12 years of education (RR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.0, 4.2) were independently associated with invasive meningococcal disease. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal smoking, a likely surrogate for tobacco smoke exposure following delivery, appears to be a modifiable risk factor for sporadic meningococcal disease in young children.  (+info)

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10