Maternal Socioeconomic Factors and Racial/Ethnic Differences in Neonatal Anthropometry

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2020-10, Vol.17 (19), p.7323
• Main Authors: Lambert, Calvin, Gleason, Jessica L, Pugh, Sarah J, Liu, Aiyi, Bever, Alaina, Grobman, William A, Newman, Roger B, Wing, Deborah, Gerlanc, Nicole M, Tekola-Ayele, Fasil, Grantz, Katherine L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdomen; Anthropometry; Birth weight; Black people; Body measurements; Childbirth & labor; Circumferences; Cohort Studies; Cultural differences; Education; Employment; Ethnic factors; Ethnicity; Female; Fetal Development; Fetuses; Generalized linear models; Gestational age; Hispanic people; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Insurance; Male; Minority & ethnic groups; Neonates; Pacific Islander people; Poverty; Pregnancy; Prospective Studies; Race; Social factors; Socioeconomic Factors; Socioeconomics; Statistical analysis; Statistical models; Students; United States; White people; Womens health
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17197323

Disparities in birthweight by maternal race/ethnicity are commonly observed. It is unclear to what extent these disparities are correlates of individual socioeconomic factors. In a prospective cohort of 1645 low-risk singleton pregnancies included in the NICHD Fetal Growth Study (2009-2013), neonatal anthropometry was measured by trained personnel using a standard protocol. Socioeconomic characteristics included employment status, marital status, health insurance, annual income, and education. Separate adjusted generalized linear models were fit to both test the effect of race/ethnicity and the interaction of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic characteristics on neonatal anthropometry. Mean infant birthweight, length, head circumference, and abdominal circumference all differed by race/ethnicity ( 0.001). We observed no statistically significant interactions between race/ethnicity and full-time employment/student status, marital status, insurance, or education in association with birthweight, neonatal exam weight, length, or head or abdominal circumference at examination. The interaction between income and race/ethnicity was significant only for abdominal circumference ( 0.027), with no other significant interactions for other growth parameters, suggesting that racial/ethnic differences in neonatal anthropometry did not vary by individual socioeconomic factors in low-risk women. Our results do not preclude structural factors, such as lifetime exposure to poverty, as an explanation for racial/ethnic disparities.