Citation

Collins JW, David RJ. Ethn. Dis. 1997; 7(3): 184-190.

Affiliation

Division of Neonatology-#45, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL 60614, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, International Society on Hypertension in Blacks)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9467700

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To ascertain the extent to which residence in violent communities is an independent risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes among impoverished (census tract median family income < $10,000/year) African-American mothers. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was performed. METHODS: We performed multivariate analyses on 1983 Illinois vital records, Chicago Police Department violent crime rates, and 1980 United States Census income data. RESULTS: African-American mothers who resided in the most violent communities had a low birth weight rate of 16% compared to 12% for infants (N = 315) with mothers who lived in the least violent communities; odds ratio = 1.5 (1.0-2.1). The proportion of small-for-gestational-age infants was substantially elevated in mothers who resided in the most violent communities compared to mothers who lived in the least violent communities: 7% vs. 3%; odds ratio = 2.6 (1.5-2.1). In multivariate logistic regression models that controlled for individual risk factors, the adjusted odds ratios for low birth weight and small-for-gestational-age infants among mothers who resided in the most (compared to the least) violent communities were 1.1 (0.9-1.2) and 1.5 (1.1-2.1), respectively. CONCLUSION: We conclude that a community's violent crime rate is associated with intrauterine growth retardation among infants born to African-American women.

Language: en