RISK-FACTORS FOR LOW-BIRTH-WEIGHT - RESULTS FROM A CASE-CONTROL STUDYIN SOUTHERN SPAIN

The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of several v ariables, including altitude of maternal residence, on delivering a lo w birth weight (LBW) newborn. A case-control study was done. Two hundr ed forty cases (single newborn weighing less than 2,500 g) and 374 con trols (single newborn weighing more than 2,499 g) were included. Infor mation was gathered from the clinical chart of delivering women, throu gh a personal interview and the Spanish Census Bureau (for altitude). Predictors of LBW were assessed through stepwise logistic regression a nalysis. Several well-known LBW risk factors were identified: hyperten sion, weight gain during pregnancy, body size (mainly maternal prepreg nancy weight), low social class, primiparity, and several conditions ( spontaneous delivery, abruptio placentae). Altitude was an independent predictor of LBW at term (more than 37 weeks of gestational age) but not for preterm LBW. Nevertheless, a relationship between altitude and birth weight was not found in controls, although a moderate decreasin g gradient with altitude was observed. The Limitations of these findin gs are discussed. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.