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Disparities in pre‐eclampsia and eclampsia among immigrant women giving birth in six industrialised countries
Author(s) -
Urquia ML,
Glazier RH,
Gag AJ,
Mortensen LH,
Nybo Andersen AM,
Janevic T,
Guendelman S,
Thornton D,
Bolumar F,
Río Sánchez I,
Small R,
Davey MA,
Hjern A
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/1471-0528.12758
Subject(s) - eclampsia , immigration , demography , medicine , latin americans , odds ratio , population , confidence interval , logistic regression , geography , pregnancy , environmental health , political science , genetics , archaeology , pathology , sociology , law , biology
Objective To assess disparities in pre‐eclampsia and eclampsia among immigrant women from various world regions giving birth in six industrialised countries. Design Cross‐country comparative study of linked population‐based databases. Setting Provincial or regional obstetric delivery data from Australia, Canada, Spain and the USA and national data from Denmark and Sweden. Population All immigrant and non‐immigrant women delivering in the six industrialised countries within the most recent 10‐year period available to each participating centre (1995–2010). Methods Data was collected using standardised definitions of the outcomes and maternal regions of birth. Pooled data were analysed with multilevel models. Within‐country analyses used stratified logistic regression to obtain odds ratios ( OR ) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI ). Main outcome measures Pre‐eclampsia, eclampsia and pre‐eclampsia with prolonged hospitalisation (cases per 1000 deliveries). Results There were 9 028 802 deliveries (3 031 399 to immigrant women). Compared with immigrants from Western Europe, immigrants from Sub‐Saharan Africa and Latin America & the Caribbean were at higher risk of pre‐eclampsia ( OR : 1.72; 95% CI : 1.63, 1.80 and 1.63; 95% CI : 1.57, 1.69) and eclampsia ( OR : 2.12; 95% CI : 1.61, 2.79 and 1.55; 95% CI : 1.26, 1. 91), respectively, after adjustment for parity, maternal age and destination country. Compared with native‐born women, European and East Asian immigrants were at lower risk in most industrialised countries. Spain exhibited the largest disparities and Australia the smallest. Conclusion Immigrant women from Sub‐Saharan Africa and Latin America & the Caribbean require increased surveillance due to a consistently high risk of pre‐eclampsia and eclampsia.