Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Related to Advanced Maternal Age Compared With Smoking and Being Overweight

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

To investigate the association between advanced maternal age and adverse pregnancy outcomes and to compare the risks related to advanced maternal age with those related to smoking and being overweight or obese. A population-based register study including all nulliparous women aged 25 years and older with singleton pregnancies at 22 weeks of gestation or greater who gave birth in Sweden and Norway from 1990 to 2010; 955,804 women were analyzed. In each national sample, adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of very preterm birth, moderately preterm birth, small for gestational age, low Apgar score, fetal death, and neonatal death in women aged 30-34 years (n=319,057), 35-39 years (n=94,789), and 40 years or older (n=15,413) were compared with those of women aged 25-29 years (n=526,545). In the Swedish sample, the number of additional cases of each outcome associated with maternal age 30 years or older, smoking, and overweight or obesity, respectively, was estimated in relation to a low-risk group of nonsmokers of normal weight and aged 25-29 years. The adjusted OR of all outcomes increased by maternal age in a similar way in Sweden and Norway; and the risk of fetal death was increased even in the 30- to 34-year-old age group (Sweden n=826, adjusted OR 1.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13-1.37; Norway n=472, adjusted OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.12-1.41). Maternal age 30 years or older was associated with the same number of additional cases of fetal deaths (n=251) as overweight or obesity (n=251). For the individual woman, the absolute risk for each of the outcomes was small, but for society, it may be significant as a result of the large number of women who give birth after the age of 30 years. II.

Related collections

Most cited references 29

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Teenage pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes: a large population based retrospective cohort study.

Xi-Kuan Chen, Shi Wen, Nathalie Fleming … (2007)

Whether the association between teenage pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes could be explained by deleterious social environment, inadequate prenatal care, or biological immaturity remains controversial. The objective of this study was to determine whether teenage pregnancy is associated with increased adverse birth outcomes independent of known confounding factors. We carried out a retrospective cohort study of 3,886,364 nulliparous pregnant women <25 years of age with a live singleton birth during 1995 and 2000 in the United States. All teenage groups were associated with increased risks for pre-term delivery, low birth weight and neonatal mortality. Infants born to teenage mothers aged 17 or younger had a higher risk for low Apgar score at 5 min. Further adjustment for weight gain during pregnancy did not change the observed association. Restricting the analysis to white married mothers with age-appropriate education level, adequate prenatal care, without smoking and alcohol use during pregnancy yielded similar results. Teenage pregnancy increases the risk of adverse birth outcomes that is independent of important known confounders. This finding challenges the accepted opinion that adverse birth outcome associated with teenage pregnancy is attributable to low socioeconomic status, inadequate prenatal care and inadequate weight gain during pregnancy.

0 comments Cited 227 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

A quality study of a medical birth registry.

S Cnattingius, A. ERICSON, J Gunnarskog … (1990)

A quality control study was made of the Swedish Medical Birth Registry. This registry used one mode of data collection during 1973-1981 and another from 1982 onwards. The number of errors in the register was checked by comparing register information with a sample of the original medical records, and the variability in the use of diagnoses between hospitals was studied. Different types of errors were identified and quantified and the efficiency of the two methods of data collection evaluated.

0 comments Cited 203 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Major risk factors for stillbirth in high-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Ruth Fretts, Adrienne Gordon, J Frederik Frøen … (2011)

Stillbirth rates in high-income countries have shown little or no improvement over the past two decades. Prevention strategies that target risk factors could be important in rate reduction. This systematic review and meta-analysis was done to identify priority areas for stillbirth prevention relevant to those countries. Population-based studies addressing risk factors for stillbirth were identified through database searches. The factors most frequently reported were identified and selected according to whether they could potentially be reduced through lifestyle or medical intervention. The numbers attributable to modifiable risk factors were calculated from data relating to the five high-income countries with the highest numbers of stillbirths and where all the data required for analysis were available. Odds ratios were calculated for selected risk factors, from which population-attributable risk (PAR) values were calculated. Of 6963 studies initially identified, 96 population-based studies were included. Maternal overweight and obesity (body-mass index >25 kg/m(2)) was the highest ranking modifiable risk factor, with PARs of 8-18% across the five countries and contributing to around 8000 stillbirths (≥22 weeks' gestation) annually across all high-income countries. Advanced maternal age (>35 years) and maternal smoking yielded PARs of 7-11% and 4-7%, respectively, and each year contribute to more than 4200 and 2800 stillbirths, respectively, across all high-income countries. In disadvantaged populations maternal smoking could contribute to 20% of stillbirths. Primiparity contributes to around 15% of stillbirths. Of the pregnancy disorders, small size for gestational age and abruption are the highest PARs (23% and 15%, respectively), which highlights the notable role of placental pathology in stillbirth. Pre-existing diabetes and hypertension remain important contributors to stillbirth in such countries. The raising of awareness and implementation of effective interventions for modifiable risk factors, such as overweight, obesity, maternal age, and smoking, are priorities for stillbirth prevention in high-income countries. The Stillbirth Foundation Australia, the Department of Health and Ageing, Canberra, Australia, and the Mater Foundation, Brisbane, Australia. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.