A caseª²control study on risk factors for preterm delivery

    YANG Liª²Mei, CHEN Biª²Liang, XIN Xiaoª²Yan, WANG Bo, YU Yueª²Cheng

    1Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Xijing Hospital, 2Department of Epidemiology, School of Preventive Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi¡¯an 710033, China

    ¡¾Abstract¡¿ AIM: To investigate the risk factors of premature delivery. METHODS: A caseª²control survey was conducted on 55 possible risk factors in 95 preterm deliveries and 116 term deliveries from June 2002 to May 2003 in Xijing Hospital. RESULTS: A multiple logistic regression analysis found that out of the 55 factors under study, each of the following factors was independently correlated with the occurrence of preterm delivery: negative life events (odds ratio [OR]: 20.5, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.5-170.4), maternal anemia (OR: 4.3, 95% CI: 1.4-13.4), pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) (OR: 7.6, 95%CI: 2.0-28.7), the frequency of preª²delivery obstetrical examination (OR:11.8, 95% CI: 3.7-37.4), exposure to toxic chemicals during gestation (OR: 76.6, 95% CI: 5.7-1032.1), and exposure to video display terminals (VDT) (OR: 4.6, 95% CI: 1.6-13.2). CONCLUSION: The above 6 factors are all main risk factors of premature. ......