International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol 28, 695-700, Copyright © 1999 by International Epidemiological Association
O Basso, J Olsen and K Christensen
BACKGROUND: The importance of paternal determinants in the occurrence of
low birthweight and prematurity is not well known. We investigated these
outcomes in siblings and paternal half siblings as a function of changes in
putative external determinants between two births in fathers who had
experienced the birth of a premature and/or low birthweight (PTB/LBW)
infant. METHODS: All fathers who, between 1980 and 1992, had an infant born
before 37 completed weeks' gestation or weighing <2500 g and a following
child were studied. We identified 14 147 pairs of siblings from Danish
national registers. The recurrence risk was studied in three sub-cohorts
defined by the outcome in the index child (PTB only, PTB/LBW, LBW only). We
estimated the recurrence risk in the younger sibling according to changes
of female partner, municipality type, occupation, and father's social
status. RESULTS: The overall recurrence risk was 16.7% for preterm delivery
and 16.8% for LBW. Changing female partner was, as expected, associated
with a reduction in the recurrence risk for both outcomes (RR = 0.40; 95%
CI: 0.27-0.60 for preterm delivery and RR = 0.38; 95% CI : 0.26-0.56 for
LBW). None of the other studied factors was associated with changes in the
recurrence risk. Fathers who changed partner had offspring with similar
birthweight and gestational length between the three sub-cohorts, while a
difference was evident in offspring to fathers whose female partner was
unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: We did not identify any paternal factor of
importance in the occurrence of LBW and preterm delivery.
ARTICLES
Low birthweight and prematurity in relation to paternal factors: a study of recurrence
The Danish Epidemiology Science Centre at the Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Aarhus. OB@soci.au.dk
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