[Anthropometric data on newborn infants: comparative study of two ethnic groups].

We have studied the birth weights, obstetrics data and anthropometrical data from 1.157 full-term newborns who were delivered in the Hospital del Insalud-Cruz Roja in Ceuta (Spain). Of these newborns, 489 were of arabic origin and 668 of hispanic origin. Arabic newborns were heavier (3.248 +/- 473 g versus 3.280 +/- 431 g, p < 0.001) and longer (50.2 +/- 1.8 cm versus 49.6 +/- 1.8 cm, p < 0.001) than their hispanic counterparts. These differences were not due to a disproportion in sex or gestational age between the groups. Furthermore, the differences were still present after adjustments were made for maternal age, parity and the mother's smoking habit. Thus, this difference in size at birth between arabic and hispanic newborns could be, at least in part, ethnically related.