ETHNICITY, MATERNAL RISK, AND BIRTH-WEIGHT AMONG HISPANICS IN MASSACHUSETTS, 1987-89

National data reveal that low birth weight and infant mortality rates among Hispanics are, in general, between the rates for whites and thos e for blacks. The question remains, do differences in low birth weight reflect distributions of known risk factors, or do ethnic differences persist after simultaneously adjusting for intervening variables? In this study, Massachusetts birth certificate data for 206,973 white non -Hispanic infants and 19,571 Hispanic infants are used to examine diff erences in low birth weight between white non-Hispanic and Hispanic in fants, as well as variation among seven subgroups of Hispanic mothers- Puerto Rican, Dominican, Central American, South American, Mexican, Cu ban, and other Hispanic. Regression analysis is used to estimate the a ssociation between risk factors and birth weight and the relative risk of low birth weight. Risk factors include ethnicity, demographic char acteristics, biological factors, access to prenatal care, and infants' conditions. Results indicate substantial variation in mean birth weig ht, low birth weight, and levels of risk among Hispanic subgroups and between Hispanics and white non-Hispanics. Puerto Rican infants had th e lowest mean birth weight and, in general the highest level of risk f actors in this population. None of the adjusted odds ratios for low bi rth weight for any Hispanic group was significantly elevated at the 95 percent level compared with white non-Hispanics. Findings in this stu dy confirm the previous observations of the wide variation among Hispa nic subgroups and the high level of risk among Puerto Ricans. Results of this study also raise some interesting questions about the differen tial relationship between ethnicity and birth weight, ethnicity and lo w birth weight, and the significance of maternal place of birth as a p roxy measure of adaptation or acculturation.