Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026

A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting
Published on: January 12, 2018
Obstetric outcomes in adolescent pregnancies: a racial/ethnic comparison
Christina A Penfield1, Yvonne W Cheng, Aaron B Caughey
1Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA. christina.penfield@gmail.com
Objective:
To examine obstetric outcomes for adolescents among the major US racial/ethnic groups.
Methods:
This is a retrospective cohort study of singleton births to nulliparous women aged 12 to 19 years from 1988 to 2008. The prevalence of preterm delivery, cesarean delivery, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, low birth weight and low Apgar score were compared across African-American, Asian, Latina and White adolescents.
Results:
1865 adolescents were included in the analysis. Differences between racial/ethnic groups for rates of preterm delivery, cesarean delivery and gestational diabetes were statistically significant at p < 0.05. African Americans had lower odds of preterm delivery (OR = 0.58, 95% CI [0.38-0.90]) and gestational diabetes (OR = 0.17, 95% CI [0.05-0.55]) than White adolescents. White adolescents had increased odds of cesarean delivery compared to African-American (OR = 0.69, 95% CI [0.48-0.98]), Latina (OR = 0.62, 95% CI [0.41-0.94]) and Asian adolescents (OR = 0.41, 95% CI [0.25-0.68]). Although not statistically significant, White adolescents also had higher odds of low Apgar score. In the multivariate analysis, non-White adolescents continued to have improved outcomes, except in the case of low birth weight.
Conclusions:
African-American, Asian and Latina adolescents may have similar or decreased risk of obstetric complications compared to White adolescents.
Related Concept Videos
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Regression Toward the Mean
Bias in Epidemiological Studies
Surveys
Development of the Oral Microbiota
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast, controlled...