Social determinants of birthweight and length of gestation in Estonia during the transition to democracy.
Int J Epidemiol
; 29(1): 118-24, 2000 Feb.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-10750613
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
To investigate social variation in birthweight and length of gestation in Estonia in the period of transition to a democracy and market economy.METHODS:
All live births resulting from singleton pregnancies reported to the Estonian Medical Birth Registry in 1992-1997 (n = 84, 629) were studied with respect to social variation in birthweight and preterm delivery (<37 weeks gestation). The results were adjusted for maternal age, parity, education, nationality, marital status, smoking in pregnancy, sex of the infant (and gestational age).RESULTS:
Between 1992 and 1997, mean birthweight increased from 3,465g to 3,497g (P < 0.001) and the preterm rate fell from 5.8% to 5.1% (P = 0.001). Maternal education, marital status and nationality were all independently related to the mean birthweight and the risk of preterm birth. The mean difference in birthweight between children of mothers with basic and university education was 87 g (95% CI 74-100). Children born to mothers of non-Estonian compared to Estonian nationality were on average 77 g lighter (95% CI 70-84). While the effect of nationality and marital status on birthweight was relatively stable during the study period, differences in birth outcome by maternal education became stronger.CONCLUSIONS:
The mean birthweight increased and the preterm rate decreased in Estonia as a whole during the transition. However, the improvements were not shared equally by all social groups. An increase in variation in birthweight by maternal education was particularly notable.Key words
Search on Google
Collection:
01-internacional
Health context:
2_ODS3
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Social Change
/
Birth Weight
/
Infant, Premature
/
Gestational Age
/
Health Transition
Type of study:
Etiology_studies
Aspects:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
/
Newborn
/
Pregnancy
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Epidemiol
Year:
2000
Document type:
Article