Neighbourhood socioeconomic status, maternal education and adverse birth outcomes among mothers living near highways

SummaryThis study assessed the strength of the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and low birth weight (LBW) and preterm birth (PTB) in Southwestern Ontario. Utilizing perinatal and neonatal databases at the London Health Science Centre, maternal postal codes were entered into a Geographic Information System to determine home neighbourhoods. Neighbourhoods were defined by dissemination areas (DAs). Median household income for each DA was extracted from the latest Canadian Census and linked to each mother. All singleton infants born between February 2009 and February 2014 were included. Of 26,654 live singleton births, 6.4% were LBW and 9.7% were PTB. Top risk factors for LBW were: maternal amphetamine use, chronic hypertension and maternal marijuana use (OR respectively: 17.51, 3.18, 2.72); previously diagnosed diabetes, maternal narcotic use and insulin-controlled gestational diabetes predicted PTB (OR respectively: 17.95, 2.69, 2.42). Overall, SES had little impact on adverse birth outcomes, although low maternal education increased the likelihood of a LBW neonate (OR: 1.01).

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Maternal Sociodemographic Factors and Antenatal Stress

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18136812 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (13) ◽

pp. 6812

Author(s):

Maheshwari Andhavarapu ◽

James Orwa ◽

Marleen Temmerman ◽

Joseph Wangira Musana

Keyword(s):

Birth Outcomes ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Household Income ◽

Maternal Education ◽

Secondary Analysis ◽

Positive Association ◽

Negative Association ◽

Adverse Birth Outcomes ◽

Biological Stress ◽

Antenatal Stress

Antenatal stress has been associated with adverse birth outcomes such as fetal growth restriction, low birth weight, and preterm birth. Understanding key determinants of stress in a vulnerable pregnant population has the potential of informing development of targeted cost-effective interventions to mitigate against these adverse birth outcomes. We conducted a secondary analysis of data from 150 pregnant women attending antenatal care services at a rural referral hospital in Kenya. The participants completed a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire, the Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and gave a hair sample for cortisol and cortisone analysis. The association between selected sociodemographic predictors (age, parity, marital status, maternal education, household income, polygyny, and intimate partner violence) and outcomes (hair cortisol, hair cortisone, and PSS score) was examined using univariate, bivariate and multivariate models. We found a negative association between PSS scores and household income (β = −2.40, p = 0.016, 95% CI = −4.36, −0.45). There was a positive association of the ratio of hair cortisone to cortisol with Adolescent age group (β = 0.64, p = 0.031, 95% CI = 0.06, 1.22), and a negative association with Cohabitation (β = −1.21, p = 0.009, 95% CI = −2.11, −0.31). We conclude that household income influenced psychological stress in pregnancy. Adolescence and cohabitation may have an influence on biological stress, but the nature of this effect is unclear.

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The association between household socio-economic status, maternal socio-demographic characteristics and adverse birth and infant growth outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease ◽

10.1017/s2040174419000680 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 317-334 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Christian Bwangandu Ngandu ◽

Douglas Momberg ◽

Ansuyah Magan ◽

Lumbwe Chola ◽

Shane A. Norris ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Birth Outcomes ◽

Growth And Development ◽

Maternal Education ◽

Economic Status ◽

Infant Growth ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Adverse Birth Outcomes ◽

Cardiometabolic Diseases ◽

Socio Economic Status ◽

Sub Saharan

AbstractAdverse birth outcomes and infant undernutrition remain the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Impaired infant growth and development, which often begins during foetal development, may persist during the first 2 years of life and has been associated with higher risks of cardiometabolic diseases. This systematic review assessed the associations between maternal demographic characteristics and household socio-economic status (SES), and preterm birth (PTB), small for gestational age, low birth weight (LBW), stunting, wasting and underweight in children under 2 years of age in SSA countries. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, we searched for publications in three electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus and ScienceDirect). Eleven studies on children under 2 years of age, in four SSA regions, published in English between 1990 and 2018, were included. All the studies were observational in design (cross-sectional or cohort studies). Maternal education was the most commonly explored exposure. Most studies (63.3%) focused on undernutrition during the first 2 years of life: LBW, PTB and stunting. Lower maternal education, maternal unemployment and lower household wealth index were the SES factors most commonly associated with adverse birth outcomes and infant undernutrition. Maternal marital status was not associated with any infant outcomes. The definitions of the SES varied, which may explain discrepancies between studies. Nutrition intervention programs in SSA need to promote education and poverty alleviation in women at reproductive age, starting from pre-pregnancy, to optimise infant growth and development and prevent the increase in the prevalence of cardiometabolic diseases.

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Maternal education and adverse birth outcomes among immigrant women to the United States from Eastern Europe: A test of the healthy migrant hypothesis

Social Science & Medicine ◽

10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.05.041 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 73 (3) ◽

pp. 429-435 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

T. Janevic ◽

D.A. Savitz ◽

M. Janevic

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Eastern Europe ◽

Birth Outcomes ◽

Maternal Education ◽

Immigrant Women ◽

The United States ◽

Adverse Birth Outcomes

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Geospatial analysis of exposure to violent crime during pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes: Evidence from São Paulo’s Western Region Birth Cohort

10.21203/rs.3.rs-33991/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Angelica Carreira dos Santos ◽

Alexandra Brentani ◽

Günther Fink

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Birth Weight ◽

Low Birth Weight ◽

Violent Crime ◽

Birth Outcomes ◽

Gestational Age ◽

Violence Exposure ◽

Western Region ◽

Adverse Birth Outcomes ◽

Violent Crimes

Abstract Background Low birth weight and prematurity remain leading causes of infant mortality and morbidity globally. Although an extensive literature has highlighted the importance of socioenvironmental characteristics for birth outcomes, the role of indirect violence on health remains fairly understudied. Methods Using geocoded birth records from the ongoing Western Region Birth Cohort ( Região Oeste Coorte – ROC-Cohort) of infants born between 2012-2014 and geocoded crime reports, we assessed the associations between exposure to violent crimes during pregnancy within a 1-km radius of mother’s residence and low birth weight, preterm delivery, and being born small-for-gestational-age. Violent crime exposure was categorized into quintiles. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to examine the associations between violence exposure and birth outcomes. Models were adjusted for sex, maternal age and education, socioeconomic status, and risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and drinking during pregnancy. ResultsAmong the 5,268 infants included, the average crime exposure during the first two trimesters of pregnancy ranged from 0.44 violent crimes in the least exposed quintile to 12.74 crimes in the most exposed. Compared to children with the lowest violence exposure, children in the highest exposure quintile were at higher odds of being born small-for-gestational-age (1.41[1.06-1.89]), preterm (1.35[1.01-1.80]), and low birth weight (1.42[1.03-1.98]). While socioeconomic status and maternal education were positively associated with lower violence exposure, no associations were found between these characteristics and the birth outcomes. Conclusions Higher exposure to external violent crimes in the close vicinity are associated with substantial increases in the odds of adverse birth outcomes. Policies to improve neighborhood safety can contribute not only to the short-term well-being of populations but may also have large social, economic, and health benefits in the long run.

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Association of maternal body mass index with intellectual disability risk

Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition ◽

10.1136/archdischild-2020-320793 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. fetalneonatal-2020-320793

Author(s):

Priscilla Ming Yi Lee ◽

Lap Ah Tse ◽

Krisztina D László ◽

Dang Wei ◽

YongFu Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Intellectual Disability ◽

Body Mass ◽

Birth Outcomes ◽

Early Pregnancy ◽

Maternal Body Mass Index ◽

Adverse Birth Outcomes ◽

Obesity Class ◽

Maternal Hypertension

ObjectivesThe study aimed to investigate the association between maternal body mass index (BMI) in early pregnancy and children’s intellectual disability (ID) risk in the absence of chromosomal disorders, neurofibromatosis and tuberous sclerosis, taking adverse birth outcomes, maternal hypertension/diabetes and maternal socioeconomic status into consideration.MethodsWe conducted a cohort study of singletons without common genetic defects born in Sweden during 1992–2006, and followed them from birth until 31 December 2014 (n=1 186 836). Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyse the association between maternal BMI in early pregnancy and the risk of offspring’s ID.ResultsThe risk of ID was higher in children born to mothers who were underweight (HR=1.21, 95% CI=1.07 to 1.36), overweight (HR=1.28, 95% CI=1.21 to 1.34) or had obesity class I (HR=1.63, 95% CI=1.53 to 1.74), obesity class II (HR=2.08, 95% CI=1.88 to 2.30) and obesity class III (HR=2.31, 95% CI=1.46 to 3.65) than in children born to normal weight mothers. Results remained consistent after excluding children with adverse birth outcome or born to mothers with gestational hypertension/diabetes. Analysis stratified by maternal education and annual household income showed that the association between maternal underweight and children’s ID risk was attenuated among children of mothers with tertiary education or with high income.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that maternal underweight or overweight/obesity in early pregnancy was associated with the development of ID in their offspring. This association was independent of the effect of adverse birth outcomes and maternal hypertension/diabetes. High socioeconomic status may attenuate the risk of ID among children of underweight mothers. This study highlights the importance of improving health education before conception to reduce children’s ID risk.

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Relations between neighbourhood socioeconomic status and birth outcomes are mediated by maternal weight

Social Science & Medicine ◽

10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.12.041 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 175 ◽

pp. 143-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Zahra M. Clayborne ◽

Gerald F. Giesbrecht ◽

Rhonda C. Bell ◽

Lianne M. Tomfohr-Madsen

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Birth Outcomes ◽

Maternal Weight ◽

Neighbourhood Socioeconomic Status

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High to low, low to high: neighbourhood socioeconomic trajectories and birth outcomes

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.1189 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

L Burgos Ochoa ◽

L C M Bertens ◽

E A P Steegers ◽

J V Been

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Preterm Birth ◽

The Netherlands ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Birth Outcomes ◽

Early Life ◽

Low Ses ◽

Adverse Birth Outcomes ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Background A growing body of literature has consistently linked neighbourhood socioeconomic status (SES) with adverse birth outcomes. However, the available evidence is based on cross-sectional indicators of neighbourhood SES, which fail to reflect neighbourhoods' dynamic nature. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between temporal trajectories of neighbourhood socioeconomic change and adverse birth outcomes. Methods The study population consisted of registered singleton births occurred in the Netherlands 2003-2017 between 24 and 41 weeks of gestation (N = 2,335,449). Based on neighbourhood socioeconomic data from The Netherlands Institute for Social Research, we categorized neighbourhoods into longitudinal SES trajectories (e.g. stable, declining, ascending). Multilevel logistic regression models were used to estimate the relationship between neighbourhood SES trajectories and birth outcomes, i.e., preterm birth and small-for-gestational-age (SGA). Results Living in a Stable Low SES neighbourhood was associated with higher odds of preterm birth (OR[CI]=1.10[1.06; 1.14]), and SGA (OR[CI]=1.15[1.12; 1.18]), compared to living in Stable High SES areas. Also, women living in a Declining (Middle to Low SES) neighbourhood had higher odds for preterm birth (OR = 1.08[1.03; 1.14]) and SGA (OR = 1.10 [1.06; 1.15]), compared to Stable High SES areas. Conclusions Women from neighbourhoods with long-term low or declining SES were more likely to experience adverse birth outcomes. Policies aimed at mitigating the effect of long-term neighbourhood disadvantage or preventing neighbourhoods' decline have potential to benefit early life health outcomes. Key messages Women living in long-term low or declining socioeconomic status neighbourhoods were more likely to experience adverse birth outcomes. Our results can provide guidance to policies aimed at improving early life health outcomes.

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