Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Concurrent Collection of Fetal Murine Brain and Serum to Assess Effects of Maternal Diet on Nutrition and Neurodevelopment in Neurofibromatosis Type 1
05:44

Concurrent Collection of Fetal Murine Brain and Serum to Assess Effects of Maternal Diet on Nutrition and Neurodevelopment in Neurofibromatosis Type 1

Published on: May 17, 2024

Influence of paternal characteristics on the risk of low birth weight

J D Parker1, K C Schoendorf

  • 1Division of Analysis, National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD 20782.

American Journal of Epidemiology
|August 15, 1992
PubMed

Insights

Paternal education and race independently impact low birth weight (LBW) and very low birth weight (VLBW) risks. Higher paternal education is linked to lower LBW/VLBW, and paternal race identifies specific risk groups for Black mothers.

Area of Science:

  • Reproductive Health
  • Perinatal Epidemiology
  • Sociodemographic Factors in Birth Outcomes

Background:

  • Low birth weight (LBW) and very low birth weight (VLBW) are critical indicators of infant health and long-term outcomes.
  • Maternal factors are traditionally emphasized in assessing LBW/VLBW risks.
  • The role of paternal factors in influencing birth weight remains less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the independent contributions of maternal and paternal characteristics to the risk of LBW and VLBW.
  • To determine if paternal factors modify the association between maternal characteristics and LBW/VLBW.
  • To identify specific demographic subgroups with altered LBW/VLBW risks based on paternal attributes.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of a large-scale national dataset (1984-1988 natality data from the National Center for Health Statistics).
  • Statistical modeling to assess the independent effects of paternal education and race on LBW/VLBW risks.
  • Adjustment for maternal characteristics to isolate the impact of paternal factors.

Main Results:

  • Paternal education and race demonstrated independent effects on LBW and VLBW risks, even after controlling for maternal factors.
  • Increased paternal education was associated with a decreased risk of both LBW and VLBW.
  • Paternal education attenuated the observed effect of maternal education on LBW/VLBW risks.
  • Paternal race analysis revealed a subgroup of married Black women with lower LBW/VLBW risks compared to the overall group.

Conclusions:

  • Paternal characteristics, specifically education and race, are significant independent predictors of infant birth weight.
  • Incorporating paternal factors into risk assessment models can provide a more comprehensive understanding of LBW/VLBW.
  • These findings highlight the need to consider both parents' sociodemographic attributes in perinatal health strategies.

More Related Videos

Modifying Levels of Maternal Dietary Folic Acid or Choline to Study the Impact of Deficiencies on Offspring Health Outcomes03:19

Modifying Levels of Maternal Dietary Folic Acid or Choline to Study the Impact of Deficiencies on Offspring Health Outcomes

Published on: June 28, 2024

Stable Isotope In-Vivo Labeling for Mass-Spectrometry Identification of Paternal Metabolites Transferred from Sperm to Oocyte During Fertilization05:55

Stable Isotope In-Vivo Labeling for Mass-Spectrometry Identification of Paternal Metabolites Transferred from Sperm to Oocyte During Fertilization

Published on: June 17, 2025

Related Concept Videos

Pedigree Analysis01:35

Pedigree Analysis

Overview
Probability Laws01:49

Probability Laws

Overview
Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance02:30

Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance

Diploid organisms inherit genetic material through chromosomes from both parents. Copies of the same gene are known as alleles. In most cases, both alleles are simultaneously expressed and allow various cellular processes to function optimally. If one of the alleles is missing or mutated, the expression of the other allele can compensate; however, this is not true for all genes.
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
Behavioral Genetics and Its Designs01:23

Behavioral Genetics and Its Designs

Behavior genetics explores how genetic inheritance influences human behavior. It focuses on how genes, passed from parents to offspring, contribute to the development of behavioral traits and tendencies. This branch of genetics seeks to understand the complex interplay between inherited genetic factors and environmental influences in shaping our behaviors.
The primary methodologies used in behavior genetics include family studies, twin studies, and adoption studies, each providing unique...
Heritability01:06

Heritability

Heritability is a statistical concept that measures the degree to which genetic differences among individuals contribute to trait variations within a population. It is a fundamental idea in genetics, often prone to misinterpretation. Heritability is expressed as a percentage, reflecting the proportion of variation in a specific trait across a population that can be linked to genetic differences. However, it's important to understand that heritability does not determine how "genetic" a trait is,...
Biological Influences on Intelligence01:30

Biological Influences on Intelligence

Intelligence is often thought to be linked to brain size, but the relationship is more complex than that. While brain size does correlate modestly with some abilities, like verbal skills, the connection is weaker for others, such as spatial reasoning. Other factors, like brain structure, also play crucial roles. For instance, despite Einstein's smaller-than-average brain, his parietal cortex, which is involved in spatial reasoning, was 15% wider, suggesting that neural density might matter more...