American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 141, No. 12: 1177-1187
Copyright © 1995 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
research-article |
Comparison of Birth Weight Distributions between Chinese and Caucasian Infants
1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University Faculty of Medicine Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2Department of Pediatrics, McGill University Faculty of Medicine Montreal, Quebec, Canada
3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University Faculty of Medicine Montreal, Quebec, Canada
4Dr. Kramer is a National Health Scientist of the National Health Research Development Program Health Canada
Reprint requests to Dr. Shi Wu Wen, The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, 2075 Bayview Avenue Room G-250, North York, Ontario, Canada M4N 3M5.
To assess the reasons for the Chinese-Caucasian differences in birth weight distributions, a cohort study was carried out involving 18,665 Caucasian and 1,597 immigrant Chinese infants born at Montreal's Royal Victoria Hospital from January 1978 to March 1990 and 1,862 native Chinese infants born at Hefel Maternal and Infant Hospital in Hefei, People's Republic of China, from September 1990 to August 1991. Mean (standard deviation) birth weights in grams were 3,369 (567), 3,195 (493), and 3,171 (428) (p <0.01 for differences in mean and variance), and mean (standard deviation) fetal growth ratios (ratio of observed birth weight to average birth weight at the same gestational age) were 0.994 (0.124), 0 .963 (0.114), and 0.935 (0.112) (p <0.01 for differences in mean and variance), respectively, in the Caucasian, immigrant Chinese, and native Chinese groups. No important or consistent Chinese-Caucasian differences in gestational age were found. When mothers with extreme values for demographic, anthropometric, nutritional, and lifestyle determinants of fetal growth were excluded, the mean fetal growth ratio in Caucasian infants remained significantly higher (p <0.01), but the standard deviations became more similar (p >0.05): Mean (standard deviation) fetal growth ratios were 1.001 (0.111), 0.966 (0.108), and 0.946 (0.114), respectively. The race-specific rate of growth differed according to period of gestation, with Chinese infants showing more rapid fetal growth early in the third trimester but slower growth near and after term. The authors conclude that the lower mean birth weight in Chinese infants is due to differences in fetal growth (rather than gestational duration) and by their Inherently slower growth at or after term. The tight distribution of birth weight among the Chinese is caused partly by their reduced exposure to extremes of maternal determinants of fetal growth (mediated largely by environmental mechanisms) and partly by their inherently different growth pattern, with faster growth at earlier gestations but slower growth at later gestations.
birth weight; ethnic groups; fetal growth retardation; gestational age; risk factors
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  D Q Rich, K Demissie, S-E Lu, L Kamat, D Wartenberg, and G G Rhoads Ambient air pollutant concentrations during pregnancy and the risk of fetal growth restriction J Epidemiol Community Health, June 1, 2009; 63(6): 488 - 496. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. M. Faupel-Badger, C.-C. Hsieh, R. Troisi, P. Lagiou, and N. Potischman Plasma Volume Expansion in Pregnancy: Implications for Biomarkers in Population Studies Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., September 1, 2007; 16(9): 1720 - 1723. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G. Mumtaz, H. Tamim, M. Kanaan, M. Khawaja, M. Khogali, G. Wakim, K. A. Yunis, and for the National Collaborative Perinatal Neonatal Effect of Consanguinity on Birth Weight for Gestational Age in a Developing Country Am. J. Epidemiol., April 1, 2007; 165(7): 742 - 752. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. C. Brown, M. A. Del Beccaro, and C. R. Clausen A Comparison of Time to Positive Culture and Time to Clinical Identification of Serious Bacterial Infection in Infants Clinical Pediatrics, November 1, 2003; 42(9): 797 - 805. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. Lagiou, C.-C. Hsieh, D. Trichopoulos, B. Xu, J. Wuu, L. Mucci, R. Tamimi, H.-O. Adami, and S. Cnattingius Birthweight differences between USA and China and their relevance to breast cancer aetiology Int. J. Epidemiol., April 1, 2003; 32(2): 193 - 198. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. C. Klein, A. Spence, J. Kaczorowski, A. Kelly, and S. Grzybowski Does delivery volume of family physicians predict maternal and newborn outcome? Can. Med. Assoc. J., May 1, 2002; 166(10): 1257 - 1263. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. DEMISSIE, M. B. BRECKENRIDGE, and G. G. RHOADS Infant and Maternal Outcomes in the Pregnancies of Asthmatic Women Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., October 1, 1998; 158(4): 1091 - 1095. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Baizhuang Xu and P. Rantakallio Low birth weight in China and Finland Scand J Public Health, January 1, 1998; 26(1): 10 - 17. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|