Early Marriage, Preterm Birth, and School Dropout: An Intergenerational Cycle of Risk?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Across generations, girls' early marriage recurs in high-risk groups; however there is poor understanding of how behavior and biology interact in this context. We hypothesized an intergenerational cycle of risk, linking early marriage, preterm birth, and school dropout, and evaluated evidence for specific components of this cycle in low-/middle-income countries.

Methods

We conducted a systematized review, searching articles published from 2000 to 2025. We tested four hypotheses. H1: early marriage is associated with preterm birth; H2: preterm birth is associated with low educational attainment; H3: school dropout is associated with early marriage. Hypothesis-specific search terms and eligibility criteria were applied. We also tested hypothesis H4: preterm birth is

SUBMITTER: Wells JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12703574 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature