Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 1/2013

01-02-2013 | Original Paper

Ethnic/Racial Disparities in the Fetal Growth Outcomes of Ecuadorian Newborns

Authors: M. Margaret Weigel, Maria Elena Caiza Sanchez

Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health | Issue 1/2013

Login to get access

Abstract

Size at birth is an important indicator of future infant morbidity and mortality. Ethnic/racial disparities in birth weight and other fetal growth outcomes are well documented for US and Canadian minority groups but not for those in Latin America. The study compared the growth outcomes of 1,227 full-term Ecuadorian newborns delivered by Afro-descendant and indigenous minority women with those of ethnic majority (mestizo) women. Minority newborns had higher risk for congenital microcephaly but no excess risk for low birth weight or stunted linear growth compared to mestizos. However, minority newborns were significantly heavier at birth, weighing an average of 3–5% more than mestizos. Afro-Ecuadorians newborns also were fatter. The risk profile of Ecuadorian ethnic groups for certain fetal growth outcomes differs from some of those reported for North American minorities. Further studies are needed to investigate the origins of these between-group differences and to develop ethnic specific interventions for adverse growth outcomes.
Literature
1.
McIntire DD, Bloom SL, Casey BM, Leveno KJ. Birth weight in relation to morbidity and mortality among newborn infants. N Engl J Med. 1999;340(16):1234–8.PubMedCrossRef
2.
Mehta SH, Kruger M, Sokol RJ. Being too large for gestational age precedes childhood obesity in African Americans. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2011;204:265.e1–5.CrossRef
3.
Hui LL, Schooling CM, Leung SSL, et al. Birth weight, infant growth and childhood body mass index: Hong Kong’s Children of 1997 birth cohort. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2008;162:212–8.PubMedCrossRef
4.
Baird J, Fisher D, Lucas P, Kleijnen J, Roberts H, Law C. Being big or growing fast: systematic review of size and growth in infancy and later obesity. BMJ. 2005;331:929.PubMedCrossRef
5.
6.
Birgisdottir BE, Gunnarsdottir I, Thorsdottir I, Gudnason V, Benediktsson R. Size at birth and glucose intolerance in a relatively genetically homogeneous, high-birth weight population. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002;76(2):399–403.PubMed
7.
Dudenhausen JW, Plagemann A. Birth weight, early weight gain, and subsequent risk of type 1 diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Epidemiol. 2009;169:1428–36.PubMedCrossRef
8.
Whincup PH, Kaye SJ, Owen CG, Huxley R, Cook DG, Anazawa S, Barrett-Connor E, Bhargava SK, Birgisdottir BE, Carlsson S, de Rooij SR, Dyck RF, Eriksson JG, Falkner B, Fall C, Forsén T, Grill V, Gudnason V, Hulman S, Hyppönen E, Jeffreys M, Lawlor DA, Leon DA, Minami J, Mishra G, Osmond C, Power C, Rich-Edwards JW, Roseboom TJ, Sachdev HS, Syddall H, Thorsdottir I, Vanhala M, Wadsworth M, Yarbrough DE. Birth weight and risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review. JAMA. 2008;300(24):2886–97.PubMedCrossRef
9.
Gamborg M, Byberg L, Rasmussen F, Andersen PK, Baker JL, Bengtsson C, Canoy D, Drøyvold W, Eriksson JG, Forsén T, Gunnarsdottir I, Järvelin MR, Koupil I, Lapidus L, Nilsen TI, Olsen SF, Schack-Nielsen L, Thorsdottir I, Tuomainen TP, Sørensen TI, NordNet Study Group. Birth weight and systolic blood pressure in adolescence and adulthood: meta-regression analysis of sex- and age-specific results from 20 Nordic studies. Am J Epidemiol. 2007; 15; 166(6):634–45.
10.
Risnes KR, Vatten LJ, Baker JL, Jameson K, Sovio U, Kajantie E, Osler M, Morley R, Jokela M, Painter RC, Sundh V, Jacobsen GW, Eriksson JG, Sørensen TI, Bracken MB. Birthweight and mortality in adulthood: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Epidemiol. 2011; 15.
11.
Silva IdS, Stavola BD, McCormack V. Collaborative group on pre-natal risk factors and subsequent risk of breast cancer 2008 birth size and breast cancer risk: re-analysis of individual participant data from 32 studies. PLoS Med. 2008;5(9):e193. doi:10.​1371/​journal.​pmed.​0050193.CrossRef
12.
Kajantie E, Osmond C, Barker DJP, Forsén T, Phillips DIW, Eriksson JG. Size at birth as a predictor of mortality in adulthood: a follow-up of 350 000 person-years. Int J Epidemiol. 2005;34(3):655–63.PubMedCrossRef
13.
Reddy UM, Laughon SK, Sun L, Troendle J, Willinger M, Zhang J. Prepregnancy risk factors for antepartum stillbirth in the United States. Obstet Gynecol. 2010;116(5):1119–26.PubMedCrossRef
14.
15.
Baldwin LM, Grossman DC, Murowchick E, Larson EH, Hollow WB, Sugarman JR, Freeman WL, Hart LG. Trends in perinatal and infant health disparities between rural American Indians and Alaska natives and rural Whites. Am J Public Health. 2009;99(4):638–46.PubMedCrossRef
16.
Mathews MS, MacDorman MF. Infant mortality statistics from the 2005 period linked birth/infant death data set. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2008;57:1–32.PubMed
17.
Martin JA, Kochanek KD, Strobino DM, Guyer B, MacDorman MF. Annual summary of vital statistics-2003. Pediatrics. 2005;115(3):619–34.PubMedCrossRef
18.
Sparks JP. One size does not fit all: an examination of low birthweight disparities among a diverse set of ethnic/racial groups. Matern Child Health J. 2009;13(6):769–79.CrossRef
19.
Alexander GR, Wingate MS, Boulet S. Pregnancy outcomes of American Indians: contrasts among regions and with other ethnic groups. Matern Child Health J. 2008;12(Suppl 1):5–11.PubMedCrossRef
20.
Frisbie WP, Biegler M, de Turk P, Forbes D, Pullum SG. Racial and ethnic differences in determinants of intrauterine growth retardation and other compromised birth outcomes. Am J Public Health. 1997;87(12):1977–83.PubMedCrossRef
21.
Mc Elrath TF, Allred EN, Kubun K, Hecht JL, Onderdonk A, O’Shea TM, Paneth N, Levinton A. ELGAN Study Investigators. Factors associated with small head circumference at birth among infants born before the 28th week. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2010;203(2):138 e 1–18.CrossRef
22.
Krauss MJ, Morrissey AE, Winn HN, Amon E, Leet TL. Microcephaly: an epidemiologic analysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003;188(6):1484–9; discussion 1489–90.
23.
Burris HH, Collins JW Jr. Race and preterm birth–the case for epigenetic inquiry. Ethn Dis. 2010;20(3):296–9.PubMed
24.
Bryant AS, Worjoloh A, Caughey AB, Washington AE. Ethnic/racial disparities in obstetric outcomes and care: prevalence and determinants. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2010;202(4):335–43.PubMedCrossRef
25.
26.
Grundy MF, Hood J, Newman GB. Birth weight standards in a community of mixed racial origin. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1978;85(7):481–6.PubMedCrossRef
27.
28.
29.
Hall G, Patrinos HA. Indigenous peoples, poverty and human development in Latin America. London: Palgrave Macmillan; 2006.
30.
Montenegro RA, Stephens C. Indigenous health in Latin America and the Caribbean. Lancet. 2006;367:1859–69.PubMedCrossRef
31.
Casas JA, Dachs JNW, Bambas A. Health disparities in Latin American and the Caribbean: the role of social and economic determinants. In: Equity and health: views from the Pan American Sanitary Bureau. Washington: Pan American Health Organization; 2001. (Occasional Publication No. 8). http://​www.​paho.​org/​English/​DBI/​Op08_​03.​pdf.
32.
33.
Dulitsky AE. A region in denial: racial discrimination and racism in Latin America. In: Dzidzienyo A, Oboler S, editors. Neither friends nor enemies. Afro-Latinos Palgrave Macmillan: Latinos Blacks; 2005. p. 39–60.
34.
35.
Matijasevich A, Victora CG, Barros AJ, Santos IS, Marco PL, Albernaz EP, Barros FC. Widening ethnic disparities in infant mortality in southern Brazil: comparison of 3 birth cohorts. Am J Public Health. 2008;98(4):692–8.PubMedCrossRef
36.
Amigo H, Bustos P, Kaufman JS. Absence of disparities in anthropometric measures among Chilean indigenous and non-indigenous newborns. BMC Public Health. 2010;10:392.PubMedCrossRef
37.
Inter-Agency Consultation on Race in Latin America (IAC). “Inter-American Dialogue Race Report.” Inter-American Dialogue. 2003. www.​iac-race.​org. Accessed on 5 Jan 2011.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
Pan American Health Organization. Health systems profile Ecuador. Monitoring and Analysis Health Systems Change/Reform., 3rd ed.; 2008.
44.
45.
Garcia-Aracil A, Winter C. Gender and ethnicity differentials in school attainment and labor market earnings in Ecuador. World Dev. 2006;34(2):289–307.CrossRef
46.
47.
48.
Rahier JM. Blackness, the racial/spatial order, migrations, and Miss Ecuador 1995–96. Am Anthropol. 1998;100(2):421–30.CrossRef
49.
Anselmi M, Avanzini F, Moreira JM, Montalvo G, Armani D, Prandi R, Marquez M, Caicedo C, Colombo F, Tognoni G. Treatment and control of arterial hypertension in a rural community in Ecuador. Lancet. 2003; 5; 361(9364):1186–7.
50.
Guderian RH, Guzman JR, Calvopiña M, Cooper P. Studies on a focus of yaws in the Santiago Basin, province of Esmeraldas, Ecuador. Trop Geogr Med. 1991;43(1–2):142–7.PubMed
51.
Weigel MM, Castro NP, Cevallos W, Tapia M. The reproductive health and practices of ethnic minority women in a South American population. Women Cancer. 2000;1(5):12–24.
52.
Weigel MM, Castro NP. The food acquisition, dietary practices, and nutritional status of minority women of African descent living in tropical South America. Ecol Food Nutr. 2000;19:135–67.CrossRef
53.
Romero-Sandoval N, Flores O, Sánchez-Pérez HJ, Sánchez-Pérez I, Martín-Mateo M. Pulmonary tuberculosis in an indigenous community in the mountains of Ecuador. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2007;11:550–5.PubMed
54.
Rodriguez A, Guamán G, Nelson DP. Vitamin A status of children in five Ecuadorian provinces. Bull Pan Am Health Organ. 1996;30(3):234–41.PubMed
55.
Blackwell AD, Pryor G, Pozo J, Tiwia W, Sugiyama LS. Growth and market integration in Amazonia: a comparison of growth indicators between Shuar, Shiwiar, and nonindigenous school children. Am J Hum Biol. 2009;21(2):161–71.PubMedCrossRef
56.
Pan WK, Erlien C, Bilsborrow RE. Morbidity and mortality disparities among colonist and indigenous populations in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Soc Sci Med. 2010;70(3):401–11.CrossRef
57.
58.
59.
López-Cevallos DF, Chi C. Health care utilization in Ecuador: a multilevel analysis of socioeconomic determinants and inequality issues. Health Policy Plan. 2010;25(3):209–18.PubMedCrossRef
60.
61.
Paredes I, Hidalgo L, Chedraui P, Palma J, Eugenio J. Factors associated with inadequate prenatal care in Ecuadorian women. Int J Obstet Gyn. 2005;88(2):168–72.CrossRef
62.
Eggleston E, Tsui AO, Kotelchuck M. Unintended pregnancy and low birthweight in Ecuador. Am J Public Health. 2001;91(5):808–10.PubMedCrossRef
63.
Barreno G, Lascano Y, Mosquera L, Weigel MM, Caiza ME, Cuesta P. Comparación del crecimiento intrauterino entre los recien nacidos a termino de madres adolescentes y adultas. Revista Ecuatoriana de Pediatria. 2000;1(1):4–12.
64.
65.
Caiza ME, Weigel MM, Leon L, Aguinaga R, Rubio E, et al. Recién nacido de peso elevado para edad gestacionaria. Invest Rev Ateroscler. 1996;4(2):108–14.
66.
Weigel MM, Caiza ME, Lascano J, et al. The nausea and vomiting of early pregnancy in a high-altitude Andean population. Int J Gyn Obstet. 2000;69:9–21.CrossRef
67.
Weigel MM, Calle A, Vega M, et al. The effect of chronic intestinal parasitic infection on maternal-perinatal outcome. Int J Gyn Obstet. 1996;52:9–17.CrossRef
68.
Weigel MM, Narvaez WM, Lopez A, et al. Prenatal diet, nutrient intake, and pregnancy outcome in an urban Ecuadorian population. Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutrición. 1991;26(1):21–37.
69.
Weigel MM, Caiza ME, Castro NP, et al. Is the nausea and vomiting of early pregnancy really feto-protective? J Perinat Med. 2006;34(2):115–22.PubMed
70.
Khoury MJ, Berg CJ, Calle EE. The ponderal index in term newborn siblings. Am J Epidemiol. 1990;132(3):576–83.PubMed
71.
Ashwal S, Michelson D, Plawner L, Dobyns WD. Practice committee of the child neurology society subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the evidence-based review): report of the quality standards practice parameter: evaluation of the child with microcephaly. Neurology. 2009;73:887–97.PubMedCrossRef
72.
Rimol LM, Agartz I, Djurovic S, Brown AA, Roddey JC, Kähler AK, Mattingsdal M, Athanasiu L, Joyner AH, Schork NJ, Halgren E, Sundet K, Melle I, Dale AM, Andreassen OA; Alzheimer’s disease neuroimaging initiative. Sex-dependent association of common variants of microcephaly genes with brain structure. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2010; 5;107(1):384–8.
73.
Cao XY, Jiang XM, Dou ZH, Rakeman MA, Zhang ML, O’Donnell K, Ma T, Amette K, DeLong N, DeLong GR. Timing of vulnerability of the brain to iodine deficiency in endemic cretinism. N Engl J Med. 1994;331(26):1739–44.PubMedCrossRef
74.
Shefali AK, Kavitha M, Deepa R, Mohan V. Pregnancy outcomes in pre-gestational and gestational diabetic women in comparison to non-diabetic women–a prospective study in Asian Indian mothers (CURES-35). J Assoc Physicians India. 2006;54:613–8.PubMed
75.
76.
González-Andrade F, López-Pulles R. Ecuador: public health genomics. Public Health Genomics. 2010;13(3):171–80.PubMedCrossRef
77.
Stoler-Poria S, Lev D, Schweiger A, Lerman-Sagie T, Malinger G. Developmental outcome of isolated fetal microcephaly. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2010;36(2):154–8.PubMedCrossRef
78.
Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Sutton PD, Ventura SJ, Mathews TJ, Kirmeyer S. Osterman MJ Births: final data for 2007. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2010;58(24):1–85.PubMed
79.
Gunnarsdottir I, Birgisdottir BE, Benediktsson R, Gudnason V, Thorsdottir I. Relationship between size at birth and hypertension in a genetically homogeneous population of high birth weight. J Hypertens. 2002;20(4):623–8.PubMedCrossRef
80.
Khoury MJ, Erickson JD, Cordero JF, McCarthy BJ. Congenital malformations and intrauterine growth retardation: a population study. Pediatrics. 1988;82:83–90.PubMed
81.
Arteaga J, Luna L, Mutchinick OM. Diabetes, pregnancy and birth defects. Rev Invest Clin. 2008;60(2):107–14.PubMed
82.
Shaw JE, Sicree RA, Zimmet PZ. Global estimates of the prevalence of diabetes for 2010 and 2030. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2010;87:4–14.PubMedCrossRef
83.
84.
Ministerio de Salud Publica. Direccion Provincial de Salud Pichincha. Reporte SIVAN 2010.
85.
Metadata
Title
Ethnic/Racial Disparities in the Fetal Growth Outcomes of Ecuadorian Newborns
Authors
M. Margaret Weigel
Maria Elena Caiza Sanchez
Publication date
01-02-2013
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health / Issue 1/2013
Print ISSN: 1557-1912
Electronic ISSN: 1557-1920
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-011-9571-5

Other articles of this Issue 1/2013

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 1/2013 Go to the issue

Original Paper

Social Factors Associated with the Knowledge About HIV of the Immigrants from China, Latin America, the Maghreb and Senegal in the Basque Country (Spain)

Original Paper

Increasing Screening Mammography Among Immigrant and Minority Women in Canada: A Review of Past Interventions

Brief Communication

Pilot Evaluation of a Health Promotion Program for African Immigrant and Refugee Women: The UJAMBO Program

Original Paper

The Interrelationships Among Acculturation, Social Support, and Postpartum Depression Symptoms Among Marriage-Based Immigrant Women in Taiwan: A Cohort Study

Original Paper

High-Risk Sexual Behavior, HIV/STD Prevalence, and Risk Predictors in the Social Networks of Young Roma (Gypsy) Men in Bulgaria

Original Paper

Practitioner and Client Explanations for Disparities in Health Care Use Between Migrant and Non-migrant Groups in Sweden: A Qualitative Study