Ff. Fikree et Hw. Berendes, RISK-FACTORS FOR TERM INTRAUTERINE GROWTH-RETARDATION - A COMMUNITY-BASED STUDY IN KARACHI, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 72(4), 1994, pp. 581-587
Reported are the results of a community-based prospective study in fou
r urban squatter settlements in Karachi that was carried out to assess
the incidence of and risk factors for intrauterine growth retardation
. The incidence of term intrauterine growth retardation was 24.4% amon
g 738 singleton births. The socioeconomic and biological risk factors
that were found to be statistically significant in a bivariate analysi
s were included in a logistic regression model to assess their indepen
dent effects. The major risk factors were low level of maternal educat
ion, paternal unemployment, consanguinity, short birth-to-conception i
ntervals, short maternal stature, and low maternal weight. The populat
ion risk estimates suggest the desirability of public health intervent
ions to improve maternal weight and birth spacing and of improvements
in socioeconomic conditions, especially maternal education. Public edu
cation programmes to discourage consanguineous marriages should also b
e considered.