Lower Rates of Preterm Birth in Women of Arab Ancestry: an Epidemiologic Paradox--Michigan, 1993-2002

Overview

Journal Matern Child Health J

Specialty Health Services

Date 2007 Mar 3

PMID 17333385

Citations 20

Authors

Darline K El Reda

Violanda Grigorescu

Samuel F Posner

Amanda Davis-Harrier

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: Preterm birth (PTB), <37 weeks gestation, occurs in 12.1% of live births annually and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in the United States. Racial/ethnic subgroups are disproportionately affected by PTB. Michigan is home to one of the largest Arab-American communities in the country; however, little is known about PTB in this population. This study examined the maternal demographic profile and risk factors of preterm birth (PTB) among foreign-born and US-born women of Arab ancestry relative to US-born Whites in Michigan.

Methods: Using Michigan Vital Statistics data, we examined correlates of PTB for primiparous U.S.-born white (n = 205,749), U.S.-born Arab (n=1,697), and foreign-born Arab (n=5,997) women who had had a live-born singleton infant during 1993-2002. We examined variables commonly reported to be associated with PTB, including mother's age and education; insurance type; marital status of parents; receipt of prenatal care; mother's chronic hypertension, diabetes, and tobacco use; and infant sex.

Results: Foreign-born Arabs are less educated and more likely to be on Medicaid, and they receive less prenatal care than US-born Whites. Prevalence of PTB was 8.5, 8.0, and 7.5% for US-born Whites, US-born Arabs, and foreign-born Arabs, respectively. Pregnancy-related hypertension was the only predictor of PTB that these three groups had in common: Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR)=2.1 (95% Confidence Interval (CI)=1.99, 2.21), AOR=2.6 (95% CI=1.24, 5.51), and AOR=2.6 (95% CI=1.55, 4.31) for US-born whites, US-born Arabs, and foreign-born Arabs, respectively.

Conclusions: Foreign-born Arab women in Michigan have a higher-risk maternal demographic profile than that of their US-born white counterparts; however, their prevalence of PTB is lower, which is consistent with the epidemiologic paradox reported among foreign-born Hispanic women.

Citing Articles

The prevalence of preterm and low birth weight infants among migrant women in the Pearl River Delta region, China: a population-based birth cohort study.

Xie L, Liang Z, Wang X, Luo X BMC Public Health. 2024; 24(1):1179.

PMID: 38671398 PMC: 11055229. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18667-8.

Maternal and Perinatal Health Disparities Among Middle Eastern and North African Women and Children in the United States.

Kindratt T, Dallo F, Brown K Matern Child Health J. 2024; 28(4):719-728.

PMID: 38194128 DOI: 10.1007/s10995-023-03863-6.

Low Birth Weight and Preterm Birth Among Arab-American Women in Ohio.

Hyder A, Barnett K Matern Child Health J. 2020; 25(4):574-583.

PMID: 33247418 DOI: 10.1007/s10995-020-03095-y.

Maternal Health Behaviors and Infant Health Outcomes Among Arab American and Non-Hispanic White Mothers in Massachusetts, 2012-2016.

Abuelezam N, Cuevas A, Galea S, Hawkins S Public Health Rep. 2020; 135(5):658-667.

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Stillbirth Among Arab Women in Canada, 1981-2015.

Auger N, Racape J, Raynault M, Bilodeau-Bertrand M, Lee G, Janevic T Public Health Rep. 2020; 135(2):245-252.

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