Ahmadu Baba Usman, Mustapha Bello, Bappariya Jonathan Isah, Alfred Numfor, Joel Zwabragi
Department of Pediatrics, Federal Medical Centre Yola, Nigeria.
Ethiop J Health Sci. 2013 Mar;23(1):27-31.
Increasing age has been hypothesized with wear and tear (weathering) in mothers, which may result to low birthweight of their babies. The prevalence of low birthweight could be heightened if maternal weathering is associated with poor maternal socioeconomic variables. In this current study, we analyzed the effects of maternal weathering on babies' birthweights.
One hundred and twenty four mother-baby pairs were selected using systematic random sampling method. Maternal age formed part of the demographic data that was obtained from the mothers' case notes and from interviews held with them. Maternal socioeconomic variables were assessed using Oyedeji's parameters and birthweights of babies were determined using bassinet weighing scale. Associations between maternal socioeconomic variables and birthweight of babies were assessed using univariate analysis. Differences in mean birthweight of babies according to their maternal age were evaluated using one-way analysis of variance ANOVA.
Among the 124 babies, 66(53.2%) were males and 58(46.8%) females of whom the majority 104(83.9%, had normal birthweight. The mean birthweight of babies was 3.05±0.57 (95% CI, 2.95-3.15) kg, while the mean maternal age was 23.60 (5.2) 95% CI, (22.68-24.52) years. The difference between mean birthweight of babies and mean maternal age was not significant (F=1.35, p=0.255). Similarly, the association between birthweight, maternal education and occupation computed using univariate analysis was not significant (F=2.163, p=0.120) for education and (F=1.825, p=0.166) for occupation.
In this study, maternal weathering was not found to be associated with LBW outcome. This implies that an increase in maternal age may not be significantly associated with LBW. However, there is need for further research on this subject from different centers using larger sample size in order to enhance the precision of the study.
有假设认为，母亲年龄的增长伴随着身体的磨损（老化），这可能导致其婴儿出生体重偏低。如果母亲的身体老化与不良的社会经济变量相关，那么低出生体重的发生率可能会更高。在本研究中，我们分析了母亲身体老化对婴儿出生体重的影响。
采用系统随机抽样方法选取了124对母婴。母亲年龄是从母亲的病历和与她们的访谈中获得的人口统计学数据的一部分。母亲的社会经济变量使用奥耶德吉的参数进行评估，婴儿的出生体重使用婴儿床秤确定。使用单因素分析评估母亲社会经济变量与婴儿出生体重之间的关联。根据母亲年龄评估婴儿平均出生体重的差异，使用单因素方差分析（ANOVA）。
在124名婴儿中，66名（53.2%）为男性，58名（46.8%）为女性，其中大多数104名（83.9%）出生体重正常。婴儿的平均出生体重为3.05±0.57（95%CI，2.95 - 3.15）kg，而母亲的平均年龄为23.60（5.2）95%CI，（22.68 - 24.52）岁。婴儿平均出生体重与母亲平均年龄之间的差异不显著（F = 1.35，p = 0.255）。同样，使用单因素分析计算的出生体重、母亲教育程度和职业之间的关联，教育程度方面不显著（F = 2.163，p = 0.120），职业方面也不显著（F = 1.825·，p = 0.166）。
在本研究中，未发现母亲身体老化与低出生体重结果相关。这意味着母亲年龄的增加可能与低出生体重没有显著关联。然而，需要不同中心使用更大样本量对该主题进行进一步研究，以提高研究的精确度。
