Multiple maternities and neighborhood income

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Health
• Socioeconomic Determinants of Health
• Perinatal Epidemiology

Background:

• Socioeconomic factors can influence pregnancy outcomes.
• Previous research has explored disparities in maternal and infant health.
• Understanding variations in multiple maternities is crucial for public health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between neighborhood income levels and multiple maternities in Toronto, Canada.
• To determine if socioeconomic status impacts the incidence of twin versus higher-order births.
• To identify potential socioeconomic gradients in the occurrence of multiple births.

Main Methods:

• Secondary analysis of 144,731 hospital records from Toronto (1996-2001).
• Categorization of neighborhood income into quintiles.
• Multiple logistic regression to calculate adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Main Results:

• A significant association was found between higher neighborhood income and twin maternities (AOR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.10-1.41).
• No significant income-based differences were observed for higher-order maternities (triplets or more).
• The wealthiest neighborhood-income quintile showed a higher likelihood of twin births compared to other groups.

Conclusions:

• Higher neighborhood income is positively associated with an increased risk of twin births.
• These findings suggest that affluent neighborhoods may attract families with characteristics predisposing them to twin pregnancies.
• Further research is necessary to elucidate the specific mechanisms behind socioeconomic disparities in multiple births.