Prepregnancy body mass index, vaginal inflammation, and the racial disparity in preterm birth.

Title
Prepregnancy body mass index, vaginal inflammation, and the racial disparity in preterm birth.
Source
American Journal of Epidemiology. 163(5):459-66, 2006 Mar 1.


"The authors sought to quantify the overall and race/ethnic-specific relations between prepregnancy body mass index and both preterm birth and vaginal inflammation. Data from a cohort of 11,392 women who enrolled in the multicenter Vaginal Infections and Prematurity Study (1984-1989) at 23-26 weeks' gestation were used. Compared with a prepregnancy body mass index of 22, a body mass index of 16 increased the risk of preterm birth by 90%, and a body mass index of 18 increased the risk by 40%. Ethnicity substantially modified the magnitude of the body mass index effect and the shape of the preterm birth risk curve, with underweight having a greater impact on preterm birth among Blacks and Hispanics than among Whites. Low body mass index increased the risk of a high level of neutrophils (> 5 per oil immersion field) and a high vaginal pH measurement (> or = 5.0) among Black women; for a body mass index of 16 versus 22, the odds ratio = 1.7. Compared with Black women with a body mass index of 22, Blacks with a body mass index of 16 had a 1.7-fold increased risk for a high level of neutrophils and a high vaginal pH measurement, while those with a body mass index of 18 had a 1.3-fold increased risk."