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An investigation of the effect of paternal occupation group at conception on birth weight and gestational age
Author(s) -
Shea Katherine M.,
Farrow Alexandra,
Little Ruth,
Study Team ALSPAC
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199706)31:6<738::aid-ajim11>3.0.co;2-z
Subject(s) - medicine , birth weight , gestational age , longitudinal study , demography , cohort study , pregnancy , singleton , cohort , low birth weight , obstetrics , pediatrics , genetics , pathology , sociology , biology
The occupational histories of fathers were collected prospectively as part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ALSPAC), and were used to investigate the association of paternal job title with a baby's birth weight and gestational age. The analysis cohort consisted of 4,795 singleton live‐born babies whose fathers responded fully to questionnaire items regarding occupational history. Jobs were coded using the British Standard Occupational Codes and classified into nine major occupational groups. A 73‐gram difference (95% CI: 0.16, 145.17) was found between the mean birth weight of full‐term babies born of professional fathers (3,543 gm) and of fathers working in craft and related occupations (3,470 gm). This difference decreased and lost significance after controlling for sociodemographic variables. No difference was found in the mean birth weight of preterm babies, or in the rate of preterm delivery, when analyzed by paternal occupation at conception. Our results suggest that when important sociodemographic variables are known, the father's job title alone may not be a useful predictor of birth weight or preterm delivery. Am. J. Ind. Med. 31:738–743, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.