FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH PRETERM BIRTH IN CARDIFF, WALES .1. UNIVARIABLE AND MULTIVARIABLE ANALYSIS

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to examine the associations of demographic, social, and medical factors with risk of preterm birth. STUDY DESIGN: By use of the Cardiff Births Survey, a large database of largely homo geneous (white) births in Wales, multivariable analysis by logistic re gression examined the relative importance of risk variables associated with preterm birth. RESULTS: Significant independent associations wit h preterm birth were found (in decreasing order of magnitude) for late pregnancy bleeding, preeclampsia-proteinuria, low maternal weight, lo w maternal age, early pregnancy bleeding, history of previous stillbir th, smoking, high parity, low or high hemoglobin concentration, histor y of previous abortion, low social class, bacteriuria, and nulliparity . CONCLUSION: In this population demographic, social, and medical char acteristics of the pregnancies showed significant associations with pr eterm birth.