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Published on: January 12, 2018
Outcome of pregnancies among Hispanics: revisiting the epidemiologic paradox
Víctor Hugo González-Quintero1, Lama Tolaymat, Barbara Luke
1Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33101, USA. vhgonzalez@med.miami.edu
Objective:
To evaluate the outcome of pregnancies among Hispanics in a tertiary care hospital in Miami, Florida.
Study Design:
Retrospective study of all women who delivered in our institution over an 11-year period. Outcome variables were stratified by race/ethnicity groups: Hispanics, non-Hispanic blacks and non-Hispanic whites. Variables included rates of low birth weight (LBW), preterm delivery (PTD) and other selected pregnancy outcomes.
Results:
Thirty-five percent were of Hispanic origin, mainly of Caribbean, Central American and South American origin. Hispanics had the lowest rate of LBW (9%) when compared to blacks, non-Hispanics (18%) and white non-Hispanics (11%) (p < 0.0001). Hispanic women were less likely to deliver prematurely, at < 37 weeks (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.68, 95% CI 0.65-0.91, p < 0.0001), < 32 weeks (AOR 0.57, 95% CI 0.52-0.63, p < 0.0001) and < 28 weeks (AOR 0.66, 95% CI 0.51-0.65, p < 0.0001). Hispanic women were less likely to have preterm premature rupture of membranes (AOR 0.66, 95% CI 0.58-0.75, p < 0.0001).
Conclusion:
Hispanics have the lowest PTD and LBW rates when compared to non-Hispanic whites and blacks.
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