Respiratory distress syndrome and maternal birth weight effects

• Published in: Obstetrics and gynecology (New York. 1953) Vol. 95; no. 2; pp. 174 - 179
• Main Authors: Strandjord, Thomas P, Emanuel, Irvin, Williams, Michelle A, Leisenring, Wendy M, Kimpo, Christy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.02.2000; The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Adult; Age Distribution; Age Factors; Biological and medical sciences; Birth Weight; Delivery, Obstetric; Delivery. Postpartum. Lactation; Disorders; Ethnic Groups - statistics & numerical data; Female; Gestational Age; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Incidence; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; Medical Records; Medical sciences; Mothers - statistics & numerical data; Poisson Distribution; Pregnancy; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn - epidemiology; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn - ethnology; Risk Factors; Washington - epidemiology; Washington; Human; Ethnic origin; Pregnancy disorders; Respiratory disease; Low birth weight; Negroid; Epidemiology; Newborn diseases; Newborn; Prematurity; Mother; Risk factor; Respiratory distress; Caucasoid
• DOI: 10.1016/S0029-7844(99)00532-3
• ISSN: 0029-7844

Objective: To study traditional risk factors and the intergenerational risk factor maternal low birth weight (LBW) for respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in infants in multiple ethnic groups. Methods: The population-based database consists of hospital records linked to Washington state maternal and infant vital records. Four racial-ethnic groups were studied, whites, blacks, Native Americans, and Hispanics. Poisson regression models were used to estimate relative risks of various factors for RDS. Results: Rates for RDS were whites 1.2%, blacks 1.9%, Native Americans 1.3%, and Hispanics 1.0%. Maternal LBW was associated with increased relative risk (RR) for RDS in whites (2.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6, 4.2) and blacks (3.3, 95% CI 1.9, 5.6) for infants born vaginally. Compared with mothers of normal infants, birth weights of mothers of infants with RDS and delivered vaginally were significantly lower in whites, blacks, and Native Americans. The association of maternal LBW with RDS persisted in blacks even when multiple risk factors were added to the model (RR 2.4; 95% CI 1.1, 5.1). Conclusion: The association of maternal LBW with RDS is probably due in part to the association of maternal LBW with infant LBW and preterm birth. The strong persistent association of maternal LBW with RDS in blacks suggests that improvement of perinatal outcomes in that group will require improvement of long-term birth weight distribution.