As. Faiz et al., Risk of abruptio placentae by region of birth and residence among African-American women in the USA, ETHN HEALTH, 6(3-4), 2001, pp. 247-253
Objective. To determine whether Southern-born African-American women have h
igher incidence of abruptio placentae, irrespective of their region of resi
dence.
Methods. For this retrospective cohort study we used vital statistics data
of the US for the Years 1995 and 1996. Age-adjusted rates of abruption were
derived for combinations of regions of birth (Northeast, Midwest, South, W
est, and Foreign-born) and regions of residence (Northeast, Midwest, South,
and West) for all singleton live births among African-American women.
Results. The incidence of abruptio placentae among African-American women w
as 6.7 per 1,000 live births. The age-adjusted rates of abruption among wom
en who had not migrated showed that those in the Northeast had the highest
rates (8.3 per 1,000), followed by those in the Midwest (6.3 per 1,000), So
uth (6.0 per 1, 000) and in the West (4.9 per 1,000). The prevalence of ris
k factors showed the same pattern.
Conclusion. The results of the study suggest that place of residence rather
than place of birth was associated with the risk of placental abruption. H
owever, foreign-born African-American women had lower rates of abruption ir
respective of the region of residence.