Social Factors and Preterm Delivery in Santiago, Chile

Sample size: 56970 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Jay S Kaufman, Faustino T Alonso, Paulina Pino

Primary Institution: División Epidemiología, Escuela de Salud Publica, La Universidad de Chile

What is the relationship between maternal and neighborhood social status and the risk of preterm delivery in Santiago, Chile?

Chile's universal prenatal care may have reduced social inequalities in preterm birth outcomes.

Only 6.4% of births in Santiago were preterm.
The study analyzed 56,970 births, representing about 70% of all births in the study area.
The results showed a modest association between maternal education and preterm delivery.

The study looked at how social status affects preterm births in Santiago, Chile, and found that the risks are lower than in wealthier countries.

Multilevel regression analyses of vital statistics data linked to geocoded census data.

Potential selection bias due to differential geo-coding success.

The study may not capture all relevant social variations and had a low proportion of successfully geocoded births.

The study included births from the metropolitan region of Santiago, Chile, in 2004.

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