Study finds residence in US a risk factor for preterm birth
In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting ™, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that indicate that duration of stay in the United States is associated with increased risk of preterm birth for Hispanic women.
“It is uncertain how important environmental factors are in predisposition to preterm birth,” said Radek Bukowski, MD, PhD, with the University of Texas Medical Branch, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in Galveston, Texas, and one of the study’s authors. “To address this question, the objective of the study was to determine the risk of preterm birth in relation to duration of residence in the U.S. among Hispanic women.”
For the study, entitled Residence in the U.S. a Risk Factor for Preterm Birth, Bukowski and his colleague, Julian Robinson, MD, with Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Obstetrics and Gynecology, in Boston, Mass., studied 2,141 Hispanic women with a prior live birth who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2006), a probability sample of the U.S. population.
They found that women living in the U.S. for less than 10 years had a 3.4 percent frequency of preterm birth and women living in the U.S. for 10 or more years had twice the risk of preterm birth and a 7.4 percent frequency of preterm birth. Furthermore, women born in the U.S. had a 10 percent frequency of preterm birth and three-fold risk of preterm birth. The risk of preterm birth did not appear to be related to a number of preterm birth risk factors investigated, but because it was acquired during residence in the U.S., it is potentially modifiable.
The findings support the hypothesis that preterm birth is, at least in part, related to environmental, potentially preventable, factors. It remains unclear what specific environmental factors protect or predispose women to preterm birth.
Premature birth Risk factors
Often, the specific cause of premature birth isn’t clear. Many factors may increase the risk of premature birth, however, including:
Having a previous premature birth
Pregnancy with twins, triplets or other multiples
An interval of less than six months between pregnancies
Conceiving through in vitro fertilization
Problems with the uterus, cervix or placenta
Smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol or using illicit drugs
Poor nutrition
Some infections, particularly of the amniotic fluid and lower genital tract
Some chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes
Being underweight or overweight before pregnancy
Stressful life events, such as the death of a loved one or domestic violence
Multiple miscarriages or abortions
Physical injury or trauma
Unusual shape of the uterus
For unknown reasons, black women are more likely to experience premature birth than are women of other races. But premature birth can happen to anyone. In fact, many women who have a premature birth have no known risk factors.
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The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (est. 1977) is a non-profit membership group for obstetricians/gynecologists who have additional formal education and training in maternal-fetal medicine. The society is devoted to reducing high-risk pregnancy complications by providing continuing education to its 2,000 members on the latest pregnancy assessment and treatment methods. It also serves as an advocate for improving public policy, and expanding research funding and opportunities for maternal-fetal medicine. The group hosts an annual scientific meeting in which new ideas and research in the area of maternal-fetal medicine are unveiled and discussed.
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Vicki Bendure
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Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine