Original Article

Racial Disparities in Preterm Birth among Pregnant Women with Obesity

Authors: Anuoluwapo Egbejimi, PhD, Veronica Ajewole, PharmD, BCOP, Deepa Dongarwar, MS, Manvir Kaur, PhD, Motun Phillips, BDS, Jian Liang, BS, Mouch Fadel, PharmD, Lilian Lota, BSc, Jeanene Simon , Matthew Otule, BSc, Kennedy Taylor , God’Salvation Oguibe, MS, Hamisu M. Salihu, MD, PhD, Omonike Olaleye, PhD, MPH

Abstract

Objectives: We assessed the impact of obesity and racial disparities on preterm birth (PTB) in the United States and sought to determine whether obesity widens the racial-ethnic disparity gap in preterm birth with a focus on non-Hispanic Black and White women.

Methods: Using birth data for the years 2014–2019 made publicly available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and obtained from the National Vital Statistics System, we conducted a cross-sectional cohort study analyzing a total of 14,864,844 births from 2014 to 2019.

Results: We observed dose-dependent changes in obesity and PTB by defining obesity in subgroups and PTB in a stratified method. PTB occurred more among non-Hispanic Black women than their non-Hispanic White and Hispanic counterparts. We observed a consistent trend of increased PTB among women with high body mass index. Racial disparity existed in PTB among pregnant obese women, with non-Hispanic Black women exhibiting the greatest risk for PTB.

Conclusions: Our work further contributes to the growing knowledge of the existence of health disparity among the Black population.

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