Maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index and risk of preterm birth: a collaboration using large routine health datasets.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Preterm birth (PTB) is a leading cause of child morbidity and mortality. Evidence suggests an increased risk with both maternal underweight and obesity, with some studies suggesting underweight might be a greater factor in spontaneous PTB (SPTB) and that the relationship might vary by parity. Previous studies have largely explored established body mass index (BMI) categories. Our aim was to compare associations of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI with any PTB, SPTB and medically indicated PTB (MPTB) among nulliparous and parous women across populations with differing characteristics, and to identify the optimal BMI with lowest risk for these outcomes.

Methods

We used three UK datasets, two USA datasets and one each from South Australia, Norway and Denmark, together incl

SUBMITTER: Cornish RP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10768428 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature