Socio-demographic and consanguinity risk factors associated with low birthweight

Objective: To examine socio-demographic and biological risk factors associated with mothers giving birth to a low birthweight newborn among Arab women in Qatar. Methods: The case-control study was conducted at two main tertiary hospitals in Qatar in which participants were prospectively identified from January 2010 to April 2011. Data were collected by survey on maternal ethnicity, age, education, socioeconomic status, body mass index, consanguinity and gestational age. A total of 16,500 newborns were screened for low birthweight. A total of 863 mothers of low birthweight cases and an equal number of mothers of normal-weight babies were studied. Results: Qatari mothers were found to be 1.2 times as likely to have a low birthweidht ( 2500g) newborn compared to other Arab women (p 0.057). Mothers with a primary school education were 1.6 times as likely as university educated mothers to have a low birthweidht newborn (p 0.006). Likewise, obese mothers were 1.5 times as likely as their normal-weight counterparts (p 0.009). Consanguineous couples who were first-degree cousins were 1.9 times as likely as non-related couples to have a low birthweidht newborn (p 0.001). Newborns with a gestational age of 37 weeks were 19.6 times as likely as those 37 weeks to have a low birthweidht (p 0.001). Conclusion: The majority of the risk factors associated with low birthweidht were modifiable. Health education campaigns need to target the most vulnerable groups to reduce the rates of low birthweidht among Arabs in Qatar.