 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Julia C. Rhodes, PhD, Infant and Child Health Studies Branch, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC, 3311 Toledo Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782, 301-458-4664, jrhodes@cdc.gov, Bruce A Dye, DDS, MPH, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 6525 Belcrest Road, Rm 900 Presidential Bldg, Hyattsville, MD 20782, Amy M. Branum, MSPH, Office of Analysis, Epidemiology, and Health Promotion, National Center for Health Statistics, Infant and Child Health Studies Branch, 6525 Belcrest Rd, Hyattsville, MD 20782, and Kenneth C. Schoendorf, MD, MPH, Infant and Child Health Studies Branch, National Center for Health Statistics, 6525 Belcrest Road, room 790, Hyattsville, MD 20782.
Introduction: We examined the relationship between periodontal disease and preterm birth in a convenience sample of mother/child pairs from NHANES III.
Methods: Unique mother/child pairs were derived by (1) matching adult women to 0-6 year old children within a household, (2) retaining only the youngest child for mothers matched to more than one child and, (3) using linked birth certificate data to validate maternal age. Mothers likely to have had periodontal disease during pregnancy were defined as those with the following at their examination: (1) severe disease: =>3mm loss of attachment (LOA) at =>1 site for mothers with children under 2 yrs and >5mm for mothers with children over 2 yrs or (2) extensive disease: LOA=>2mm at =>30% of sites for mothers with children under 2 yrs and LOA=>3mm at =>30% of sites for mothers with children over 2 yrs. Mean gestation was compared with t-tests and preterm birth (<37 weeks gestation) with multivariate logistic regression.
Results: Among 1505 mother/child pairs, 40.9% of children were under 2 yrs old and 11.5% were preterm. Mean gestation among the 13.2% of mothers with periodontal disease was 38.6 (sd 2.7) weeks vs 39.1 (sd 2.7) among those without, (p=0.02). After adjustment for maternal age, parity, race/ethnicity, education, poverty, and smoking, women with periodontal disease remained at increased risk of preterm birth, OR=1.7 (95% CI=1.1, 2.6). Odds ratios increased with severity and extent of disease, suggesting a dose-response relationship.
Conclusion: These results are consistent with previous studies. However, additional research is needed to determine whether this relationship is causal.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.