Skip Navigation


American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access originally published online on January 7, 2008
American Journal of Epidemiology 2008 167(6):646-652; doi:10.1093/aje/kwm345
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
167/6/646    most recent
kwm345v2
kwm345v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Qin, C.
Right arrow Articles by Berg, C. J.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Qin, C.
Right arrow Articles by Berg, C. J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

American Journal of Epidemiology Published by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 2008.

PRACTICE OF EPIDEMIOLOGY

Variation between Last-Menstrual-Period and Clinical Estimates of Gestational Age in Vital Records

Cheng Qin, Jason Hsia and Cynthia J. Berg

From the Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA

Correspondence to Dr. Cheng Qin, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway NE, Mailstop K-23, Atlanta, GA 30341 (e-mail: caq9{at}cdc.gov).

Received for publication April 6, 2007. Accepted for publication November 1, 2007.

An accurate assessment of gestational age is vital to population-based research and surveillance in maternal and infant health. However, the quality of gestational age measurements derived from birth certificates has been in question. Using the 2002 US public-use natality file, the authors examined the agreement between estimates of gestational age based on the last menstrual period (LMP) and clinical estimates in vital records across durations of gestation and US states and explored reasons for disagreement. Agreement between the LMP and the clinical estimate of gestational age varied substantially across gestations and among states. Preterm births were more likely than term births to have disagreement between the two estimates. Maternal age, maternal education, initiation of prenatal care, order of livebirth, and use of ultrasound had significant independent effects on the disagreement between the two measures, regardless of gestational age, but these factors made little difference in the magnitude of gestational age group differences. Information available on birth certificates was not sufficient to understand this disparity. The lowest agreement between the LMP and the clinical estimate was observed among preterm infants born at 28–36 weeks' gestation, who accounted for more than 90% of total preterm births. This finding deserves particular attention and further investigation.

gestational age; pregnancy

Abbreviations: LMP, last menstrual period; NCHS, National Center for Health Statistics


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.