Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 16, 2025

A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting
Published on: January 12, 2018
Association between weighted adverse outcome score and race/ethnicity in women and neonates
Saba H Berhie1, Yvonne W Cheng2, Aaron B Caughey3
1Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, US. sberhie@gmail.com.
Objective:
To examine the association between the Weighted Adverse Outcome Score (WAOS) and race/ethnicity among a large and diverse population-based cohort of women and neonates in the United States.
Study Design:
This was a retrospective cohort study of women who delivered in the United States between 2011 and 2013. We identified mother-infant pairs with adverse maternal and/or neonatal outcomes. These outcomes were assigned weighted scores to account for relative severity. The association between race/ethnicity and WAOS was examined using chi-square test and multivariable logistic regression.
Results:
Compared to White women and their neonates, Black women and their neonates were at higher odds of an adverse outcome.
Conclusion(S):
The vast majority of women and neonates had no adverse outcome. However, Black women and their neonates were found to have a higher WAOS. This tool could be used to designate hospitals or regions with higher-than-expected adverse outcomes and target them for intervention.
Related Concept Videos
Regression Toward the Mean
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,...
Bias in Epidemiological Studies
Weighted Mean
For example, consider the number of goals scored in the matches of a tournament. While computing the average number of goals scored in the tournament, it may be more important to...
z Scores and Area Under the Curve
Rh Blood Group

