Racial and ethnic disparities in postnatal growth among very low birth weight infants in California

Soon Min Lee; Lillian Sie; Jessica Liu; Jochen Profit; Elliot Main; Henry C Lee

doi:10.1038/s41372-023-01612-9

Racial and ethnic disparities in postnatal growth among very low birth weight infants in California

J Perinatol. 2023 Mar;43(3):371-377. doi: 10.1038/s41372-023-01612-9. Epub 2023 Feb 3.

Authors

Soon Min Lee^{1

2

3}, Lillian Sie^{1

2}, Jessica Liu^{1

2}, Jochen Profit^{1

2}, Elliot Main^{4

5}, Henry C Lee^{6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatal & Developmental Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
² California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative, Stanford, CA, USA.
³ Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
⁴ Department of Obstetrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
⁵ California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, Stanford, CA, USA.
⁶ California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative, Stanford, CA, USA. henrylee@health.ucsd.edu.
⁷ Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA. henrylee@health.ucsd.edu.

Abstract

Objective: To identify racial/ethnic disparities in postnatal growth by year and gestational age among very low birth weight infants.

Study design: Total 37,122 infants, with birth weight 500-1500 g or gestational age 23-34 weeks in the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative in 2008-2016. Postnatal growth failure (PGF) was defined as change in weight Z-score from birth to discharge below -1.28. Multivariable regression analysis with birth hospital as random effect was used to estimate odds ratios (OR).

Results: Infants born to Hispanic mothers had highest risk of PGF at 30%, compared to white (24%, OR 1.33), Black (22%, OR 1.50), or Asian/Pacific Islander mothers (23%, OR 1.38). PGF incidence decreased from 2008 (27.4%) to 2016 (22.8%) with differences in trends by race. Each increasing gestational age week was associated with decreasing risk for PGF (OR 0.73, 95% confidence interval 0.72-0.74).

Conclusion: Targeted interventions addressing PGF are needed to address disparities.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Birth Weight
California / epidemiology
Ethnicity
Female
Health Status Disparities*
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Very Low Birth Weight* / growth & development
Mothers
Pregnancy

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding