Obstetrics & Gynecology · Public Health ·
Migrant status associated with lower odds of preterm birth in NSW cohort
A retrospective cohort study of 60,806 singleton births in New South Wales, Australia, examined preterm birth by migrant status and duration of residence. Migrants had lower adjusted odds of preterm birth than Australian-born women, with patterns differing between spontaneous and iatrogenic births.
- Cohort included 60,806 singleton births in New South Wales.
- Migrants had lower adjusted odds of preterm birth.
- Lower spontaneous preterm birth odds appeared only among new migrants.
- Observational associations do not establish causes.
Researchers used electronic health records to study singleton births in New South Wales from June 2020 through November 2023. Among 60,806 births, 4,076 (6.7%) were preterm. Women were classified as Australian-born, new migrants with less than five years’ residence, or established migrants with at least five years’ residence. Logistic regression adjusted for demographic, social and health-service factors assessed preterm birth and its spontaneous and iatrogenic subtypes.
Compared with Australian-born women, adjusted odds of preterm birth were lower among new migrants (aOR 0.74, 95% CI 0.65–0.85) and established migrants (aOR 0.84, 95% CI 0.75–0.93). The association was largely attributable to lower odds of iatrogenic preterm birth: aOR 0.68 (95% CI 0.57–0.83) for new migrants and 0.80 (95% CI 0.69–0.92) for established migrants. Lower odds of spontaneous preterm birth were observed only among new migrants (aOR 0.80, 95% CI 0.65–0.97).
The observational findings may be consistent with a “healthy migrant” effect, but do not establish its causes. Associations also varied by area-level socioeconomic status, and differences in baseline health, obstetric decision-making or health-system engagement may contribute. The study does not demonstrate that migrant status itself causes lower risk.
In practice
This NSW cohort found lower adjusted odds of preterm birth among both new and established migrants than among Australian-born women, with lower odds of iatrogenic preterm birth in both groups and lower spontaneous preterm birth odds only among new migrants. These observational findings do not show that migrant status causes reduced risk and do not support changing individual care based on migration status. The study suggests that subtype patterns and socioeconomic context merit consideration, but proposed explanations—including differences in baseline health and obstetric decision-making—were not established.
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BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology: Migration, Duration of Residence and Spontaneous and Iatrogenic Preterm Birth: A Retrospective Cohort Study ↗This is an automated AI-condensed summary that has not yet been reviewed by an editor. Always consult the full item at the original source.