Predicting intrauterine growth retardation in sibships while considering maternal and infant covariates

Data on 6,210 full-term sibships (gestational age greater than 36 weeks) reconstructed from birth certificates registered in Maryland between 1980 and 1984 were used to study sibship aggregation and recurrence risk of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) while considering maternal and infant covariates. In this study, IUGR was defined as being below the 10th percentile for race-, sex-, and gestational-age-specific birth weight based on all births registered in Maryland during 1984. Maternal factors (race, age at delivery, marital status, amount of prenatal care, concurrent illnesses, and complications during pregnancy) and infant factors (congenital malformations and first born child or not) were used as covariates in a modified logistic regression model which allowed correlation among sibs. First-time mothers who were under age 30 years, unmarried, received too little prenatal care, or had any reported pregnancy complications were at high risk of delivering an infant with IUGR. Even given the effects of these risk factors, however, there was a significant correlation in risk among full sibs (r = .237 +/- .028), which, combined with information on risk factors, can be used to estimate sibling recurrence risk for IUGR.