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Master of Public Health

Trends and predictors of preterm birth among Asian Americans by ethnicity, 1992-2018

AUTHORS

Dongarwar D , Tahseen D , Wang L , Aliyu MH , Salihu HM , . The journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine : the official journal of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies, the International Society of Perinatal Obstetricians. 2021 3 11; (). 1-7

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In an increasingly diverse United States (US) population, racial disparities in preterm birth outcomes continue to widen.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we examined temporal trends and risk of preterm birth among Asian American women over a quarter century (1992-2018).

STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective cohort study using the 1992-2018 Natality data files. We conducted joinpoint regression analyses to examine trends in preterm birth among Asian Americans and non-Hispanic (NH) Whites. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were used to identify risk factors associated with preterm birth among Asian Americans and their ethnic sub-groups as compared to NH-Whites.

RESULTS: There were a total of 251,278 preterm births among Asian American women, corresponding to a rate of 10.0%, which was relatively stable over time. The incidence of extremely, very and moderate-to-late preterm birth among Asian Americans was 0.4%, 0.9% and 8.7% respectively. Overall, Asian American women exhibited lower adjusted odds (OR = 0.92; 95% CI: 0.88-0.97) of preterm birth than their NH-White counterparts. Comparing Asian American subgroups to NH-Whites, Filipinas and Vietnamese mothers had increased adjusted odds, whereas Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Asian Indian women showed decreased adjusted odds for preterm birth.

CONCLUSION: The risk of preterm birth varied among the ethnic subgroups of Asian Americans in the United States. Future studies should explore the socio-cultural and environmental nuances that might explain these differences.

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