Do social factors and country of origin contribute towards explaining a “Latina paradox” among immigrant women giving birth in Germany?
Abstract Background The “Latina paradox” describes the unexpected association between immigrant status, which is often correlated to low socioeconomic status, and low prevalence of unfavourable birth outcomes. Social (e.g. culture, religion) and/or non-social factors related to country of origin are...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2019-02-01
|
| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-019-6523-9 |
| _version_ | 1811324913808572416 |
|---|---|
| author | Kim Alexandra Zolitschka Céline Miani Jürgen Breckenkamp Silke Brenne Theda Borde Matthias David Oliver Razum |
| author_facet | Kim Alexandra Zolitschka Céline Miani Jürgen Breckenkamp Silke Brenne Theda Borde Matthias David Oliver Razum |
| author_sort | Kim Alexandra Zolitschka |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The “Latina paradox” describes the unexpected association between immigrant status, which is often correlated to low socioeconomic status, and low prevalence of unfavourable birth outcomes. Social (e.g. culture, religion) and/or non-social factors related to country of origin are potentially responsible for this paradox. Methods Questionnaire survey of 6413 women delivering in three large obstetric hospitals in Berlin (Germany) covering socioeconomic and migration status, country of origin (Turkey, Lebanon), and acculturation. Data was linked with routine obstetric data. Logistic regressions were performed to assess the effect of acculturation, affinity to religion and country of origin on preterm birth and small-for-gestational-age (SGA). Results Immigrant women with a low level of acculturation (reference) were less likely to have a preterm birth than those who were highly acculturated (aOR: 1.62, 95%CI: 1.01–2.59), as were women from Turkey compared to non-immigrants (aOR: 0.49, 95%CI: 0.33–0.73). For SGA, we found no epidemiologic paradox; conversely, women from Lebanon had a higher chance (aOR: 1.72, 95%CI: 1.27–2.34) of SGA. Affinity to religion had no influence on birth outcomes. Conclusions There is evidence that low acculturation (but not affinity to religion) contributes towards explaining the epidemiologic paradox with regard to preterm birth, emphasising the influence of socioeconomic characteristics on birth outcomes. The influence of Turkish origin on preterm birth and Lebanese origin on SGA suggests that non-social factors relating to the country of origin are also at play in explaining birth outcome differences, and that the direction of the effect varies depending on the country of origin and the outcome. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:23:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1d6654257bf54197bba5d946334b0b4c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:23:47Z |
| publishDate | 2019-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-1d6654257bf54197bba5d946334b0b4c2022-12-22T02:43:22ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582019-02-0119111010.1186/s12889-019-6523-9Do social factors and country of origin contribute towards explaining a “Latina paradox” among immigrant women giving birth in Germany?Kim Alexandra Zolitschka0Céline Miani1Jürgen Breckenkamp2Silke Brenne3Theda Borde4Matthias David5Oliver Razum6Department of Epidemiology and International Public Health, School of Public Health, Bielefeld UniversityDepartment of Epidemiology and International Public Health, School of Public Health, Bielefeld UniversityDepartment of Epidemiology and International Public Health, School of Public Health, Bielefeld UniversityDepartment of Gynaecology, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Charité-Universitätsmedizin BerlinAlice Salomon HochschuleDepartment of Gynaecology, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Charité-Universitätsmedizin BerlinDepartment of Epidemiology and International Public Health, School of Public Health, Bielefeld UniversityAbstract Background The “Latina paradox” describes the unexpected association between immigrant status, which is often correlated to low socioeconomic status, and low prevalence of unfavourable birth outcomes. Social (e.g. culture, religion) and/or non-social factors related to country of origin are potentially responsible for this paradox. Methods Questionnaire survey of 6413 women delivering in three large obstetric hospitals in Berlin (Germany) covering socioeconomic and migration status, country of origin (Turkey, Lebanon), and acculturation. Data was linked with routine obstetric data. Logistic regressions were performed to assess the effect of acculturation, affinity to religion and country of origin on preterm birth and small-for-gestational-age (SGA). Results Immigrant women with a low level of acculturation (reference) were less likely to have a preterm birth than those who were highly acculturated (aOR: 1.62, 95%CI: 1.01–2.59), as were women from Turkey compared to non-immigrants (aOR: 0.49, 95%CI: 0.33–0.73). For SGA, we found no epidemiologic paradox; conversely, women from Lebanon had a higher chance (aOR: 1.72, 95%CI: 1.27–2.34) of SGA. Affinity to religion had no influence on birth outcomes. Conclusions There is evidence that low acculturation (but not affinity to religion) contributes towards explaining the epidemiologic paradox with regard to preterm birth, emphasising the influence of socioeconomic characteristics on birth outcomes. The influence of Turkish origin on preterm birth and Lebanese origin on SGA suggests that non-social factors relating to the country of origin are also at play in explaining birth outcome differences, and that the direction of the effect varies depending on the country of origin and the outcome.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-019-6523-9Latina paradoxPregnancy outcomeTurkeyLebanonGermany |
| spellingShingle | Kim Alexandra Zolitschka Céline Miani Jürgen Breckenkamp Silke Brenne Theda Borde Matthias David Oliver Razum Do social factors and country of origin contribute towards explaining a “Latina paradox” among immigrant women giving birth in Germany? BMC Public Health Latina paradox Pregnancy outcome Turkey Lebanon Germany |
| title | Do social factors and country of origin contribute towards explaining a “Latina paradox” among immigrant women giving birth in Germany? |
| title_full | Do social factors and country of origin contribute towards explaining a “Latina paradox” among immigrant women giving birth in Germany? |
| title_fullStr | Do social factors and country of origin contribute towards explaining a “Latina paradox” among immigrant women giving birth in Germany? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do social factors and country of origin contribute towards explaining a “Latina paradox” among immigrant women giving birth in Germany? |
| title_short | Do social factors and country of origin contribute towards explaining a “Latina paradox” among immigrant women giving birth in Germany? |
| title_sort | do social factors and country of origin contribute towards explaining a latina paradox among immigrant women giving birth in germany |
| topic | Latina paradox Pregnancy outcome Turkey Lebanon Germany |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-019-6523-9 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kimalexandrazolitschka dosocialfactorsandcountryoforigincontributetowardsexplainingalatinaparadoxamongimmigrantwomengivingbirthingermany AT celinemiani dosocialfactorsandcountryoforigincontributetowardsexplainingalatinaparadoxamongimmigrantwomengivingbirthingermany AT jurgenbreckenkamp dosocialfactorsandcountryoforigincontributetowardsexplainingalatinaparadoxamongimmigrantwomengivingbirthingermany AT silkebrenne dosocialfactorsandcountryoforigincontributetowardsexplainingalatinaparadoxamongimmigrantwomengivingbirthingermany AT thedaborde dosocialfactorsandcountryoforigincontributetowardsexplainingalatinaparadoxamongimmigrantwomengivingbirthingermany AT matthiasdavid dosocialfactorsandcountryoforigincontributetowardsexplainingalatinaparadoxamongimmigrantwomengivingbirthingermany AT oliverrazum dosocialfactorsandcountryoforigincontributetowardsexplainingalatinaparadoxamongimmigrantwomengivingbirthingermany |