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Role of stress in low birthweight disparities between B lack and W hite women: A population‐based study
Author(s) -
Loggins Clay Shondra,
Andrade Flavia Cristina Drumond
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/jpc.12735
Subject(s) - medicine , demography , odds ratio , confidence interval , odds , stressor , logistic regression , population , low birth weight , gerontology , pregnancy , environmental health , psychiatry , sociology , biology , genetics , pathology
Aim This study examines the role of stress in low birthweight ( LBW ) risk in B lack and W hite women in the U nited S tates. Methods Data from the 1998–2000 F ragile F amily and Child Wellbeing S tudy were used ( n = 3869). We included several self‐reported conditions which we categorised as stressors (i.e. socio‐economic conditions, health behaviours, access to quality care and cultural factors), then we used logistic regression models to analyse the role of stressors in explaining the health disparities in LBW. Results Most women were unmarried (59% for W hite women and 87% for B lack women). Among unmarried W hite women, the only stressor associated with a higher likelihood of LBW was smoking (odds ratio ( OR ) = 2.0, 95% confidence interval ( CI ) (1.2, 3.3)). Among unmarried B lack women, smoking ( OR = 1.7, 95% CI (1.2, 2.3)), drug use ( OR = 1.7, 95% CI (1.0, 2.6)), paying for the baby's birth with government resources ( OR = 1.6, 95% CI (1.1, 2.4)) and religious affiliation ( OR = 1.6, 95% CI (1.0, 2.5)) were associated with higher likelihood of LBW . Among married W hite women, older age ( OR = 1.1, 95% CI (1.0, 1.2)), smoking ( OR = 5.2, 95% CI (1.7, 15.5)), using governmental resources to pay for birth ( OR = 3.6, 95% CI (1.0, 12.4)) and living in governmental housing ( OR = 9.1, 95% CI (2.0, 41.1)) were associated with higher likelihood of LBW . No stressors were statistically significant for married B lack women. Conclusion We analysed a large number of stressors at the individual, household and societal levels and found differences on the stressors among B lack and W hite women. However, the stressors included in the analyses did not fully explain the racial disparities in LBW .