Socioeconomic status and adverse birth outcomes: a population-based Canadian sample

• Post by: Moe
• 8:16PM Jun 08, 2018
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Socioeconomic status (SES) has consistently been a predictor of physical and mental health, as those of lower SES are typically found to have poorer health status than their higher SES counterparts. This new publication explores the association between SES and adverse birth outcomes, in particular low birth weight and preterm birth in the Southwestern Ontario region. The study was conducted by a multidisciplinary team including three HEAL members: Emily Campbell, MScFN RD (lead author), Dr. Jamie Seabrook (senior author) and Dr. Jason Gilliland.

Data for all singleton infants born between February 2009 and February 2014 at the London Health Science Centre were used to carry out the study. The home neighbourhoods of the mothers were determined by inputting their postal codes into a Geographic Information System, and neighbourhoods were further divided into dissemination areas (DAs). The median household income from each DA corresponding to the participating mothers was obtained from the most recent Canadian Census. The study found SES had little impact on the adverse birth outcomes. However, it did deduce that low maternal education increases the likelihood of LBW newborns.

Emily Campbell conducted this study while she was a graduate student in the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences at Brescia University College. Other authors include Dr. Jason Gilliland, Scientist at Children’s Health Research Institute, Professor of Geography, Paediatrics and Health Sciences, and Director of the Human Environments Analysis Laboratory at Western University; Dr. Paula Dworatzek, RD at the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences at Brescia University College; Dr. Barbra de Vrijer and Dr. Debbie Penava, Associate Scientists of the Children’s Health Research Institute and faculty members of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Western University; and Dr. Jamie Seabrook, HEAL Faculty Associate at the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences at Brescia University College.

“Socioeconomic status and adverse birth outcomes: a population-based Canadian sample” was published in the Journal of Biosocial Science.

Read the full article here:  https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021932017000062