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. 2019 Sep;39(9):1175-1181.
doi: 10.1038/s41372-019-0402-1. Epub 2019 Jun 17.

Short interpregnancy interval as a risk factor for preterm birth in non-Hispanic Black and White women in California

Julia A Lonhart  1 , Jonathan A Mayo  1 , Amy M Padula  2 , Paul H Wise  1 , David K Stevenson  1 , Gary M Shaw  3
Affiliations

Short interpregnancy interval as a risk factor for preterm birth in non-Hispanic Black and White women in California

Julia A Lonhart et al. J Perinatol. 2019 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: Short interpregnancy interval (IPI) is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preterm birth (PTB < 37 weeks GA). We investigated whether short IPI (< 6 months) contributes to the higher PTB frequency among non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB).

Study design: Using a linked birth cohort > 1.5 million California live births, we examined frequencies of short IPI between racial/ethnic groups and estimated risks by multivariable logistic regression for spontaneous PTB. We expanded the study to births 1991-2012 and utilized a "within-mother" approach to permit methodologic inquiry about residual confounding.

Results: NHB women had higher frequency (7.6%) of short IPI than non-Hispanic White (NHW) women (4.4%). Adjusted odds ratios for PTB and short IPI were 1.64 (95% CI 1.54, 1.76) for NHW and 1.49 (1.34, 1.65) for NHB. Using within-mother analysis did not produce substantially different results.

Conclusions: Short IPI is associated with PTB but does not explain risk disparity between NHWs and NHBs.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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