Race and birthweight in biracial infants.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES. The purpose of the study was to determine the role of infant race as a determinant of the Black-White disparity in low birthweight (< 2500 g). METHODS. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were performed on Illinois vital records from 1982 and 1983 and on 1980 United States census income data. RESULTS. Fourteen percent of the infants born to Black mothers and White fathers were of low birthweight, compared with 9% of infants born to White mothers and Black fathers and 6% of a random sample of White infants. Both groups of biracial infants were more likely to have been born to unmarried mothers and to reside in very low-income (< $10,000 per year) census tracts than were White infants. When all confounding variables were entered into a logistic model, the adjusted odds ratio of low birthweight for biracial infants born to Black mothers and White fathers equaled 1.4. When biracial infants born to White mothers and Black fathers were compared with White infants, the adjusted odds ratio of low birthweight equaled 1.0. CONCLUSIONS. Paternal and consequent infant race does not affect the birthweight distribution of those born to White mothers and Black fathers. Unidentified factors closely related to maternal race underlie the Black-White disparity in infant birthweight.

Variations in Low Birth Weight and Preterm Delivery Among Blacks in Relation to Ancestry and Nativity: New York City, 1998–2002

“…16 Our study indicates that there may be some interaction between paternal and maternal race in predicting birth outcomes. Because our reference group consisted primarily of single-race black couples, our results likely resemble a comparison of biracial infants to infants of 2 black parents.…”

How have researchers studied multiracial populations? A content and methodological review of 20 years of research.

“…Out of the 14 studies that focused exclusively on one gender in their recruitment and analyses, 13 were all female, indicating that studies of exclusively multiracial males are rare. The majority of the studies that did not delineate the gender breakdowns of their samples were those based on U.S. Census data or National Centers for Health Statistics linked live birth-death infant records (e.g., Collins & David, 1993; Getahun, Ananth, Selvam, & Demissie, 2005; Polednak & King, 1998; Saenz, Hwang, Aguirre, & Anderson, 1995. Some were based on national datasets such as Add Health (e.g., Quillian & Redd, 2009; Udry, Li, & Hendrickson-Smith, 2003).…”

Does Multiracial Matter? A Study of Racial Disparities in Self-Rated Health

“…There is some empirical support for this pattern. Collins and David (1993) noted that although biracial white-black infants with black mothers had similar rates of low birth weight as did other infants with black mothers, they had higher rates than did either monoracial or multiracial infants of white mothers. In addition, Udry and colleagues (2003) found that white-Asian and white-American Indian adolescents were more likely than were single-race white adolescents to report fair or poor SRH but statistically as likely as their minority counterparts.…”