Community Health Department, Institute of Public Health, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Moshi, Tanzania.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Public Health, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Moshi, Tanzania.
Pan Afr Med J. 2021 Nov 24;40:179. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2021.40.179.30328. eCollection 2021.
low birth weight (LBW) remains a devastating adverse pregnancy outcome in low and middle income countries (LMICs). There is evidence showing that maternal demographic and pregnancy-related characteristics are associated with LBW. Little attention is given to paternal characteristics, which may be associated with a higher risk of LBW. This study aimed to assess the effect of paternal characteristics on LBW among singleton deliveries at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) zonal referral hospital in Kilimanjaro region, northern Tanzania.
this was a secondary analysis of a hospital-based cohort study from maternally-linked medical birth registry data at KCMC between 2000 and 2018. A total of 47,035 singleton deliveries were included in this study. Data analysis was performed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS), version 20 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Relative risk and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to determine association between LBW and paternal characteristics using log-binomial regression models, with robust standard errors to account for clustering of deliveries within mothers.
the proportion of LBW during the study period was 9.6%. After adjusting for maternal characteristics, higher risk of LBW was among fathers with low education level (RR=1.72, 95% CI: 1.22, 2.41, p=0.002), aged ≤24 years old (RR=1.37, 95% CI: 1.21, 1.55), and those unemployed (RR= 1.11, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.21). Lower risk of LBW was among fathers aged ≥40 years (RR=0.97, 95% CI: 0.88, 1.08), but this association was not statistically significant.
the study confirmed paternal young age (≤24 years old), paternal low education level and unemployment as predictors for LBW. Current evidence on the effect of paternal characteristics on LBW might suggest that programs and policies should target their engagement as a key strategy for improving birth outcomes during the perinatal period. Future studies should assess how paternal factors are associated with the risk of adverse birth outcomes.
低出生体重（LBW）仍然是中低收入国家（LMICs）灾难性的不良妊娠结局。有证据表明，产妇人口统计学和妊娠相关特征与 LBW 有关。然而，人们对父亲的特征关注甚少，这些特征可能与 LBW 的风险增加有关。本研究旨在评估坦桑尼亚北部乞力马扎罗基督教医疗中心（KCMC）区域转诊医院单胎分娩中父亲特征对 LBW 的影响。
这是对 KCMC 2000 年至 2018 年基于产妇的医疗出生登记数据的医院队列研究的二次分析。本研究共纳入 47035 例单胎分娩。使用统计软件包 for social sciences（SPSS），版本 20（IBM Corp.，Armonk，NY）进行数据分析。使用对数二项式回归模型，采用相对风险和相应的 95%置信区间（CI）来确定 LBW 与父亲特征之间的关联，并使用稳健标准误差来校正母亲内分娩的聚类。
研究期间 LBW 的比例为 9.6%。在校正了产妇特征后，父亲文化程度低（RR=1.72，95%CI：1.22，2.41，p=0.002）、年龄≤24 岁（RR=1.37，95%CI：1.21，1.55）和失业（RR=1.11，95%CI：1.01，1.21）的父亲，LBW 的风险较高。父亲年龄≥40 岁（RR=0.97，95%CI：0.88，1.08）的 LBW 风险较低，但这种关联没有统计学意义。
该研究证实了父亲年龄较小（≤24 岁）、父亲文化程度低和失业是 LBW 的预测因素。目前关于父亲特征对 LBW 影响的证据表明，应将其作为改善围产期出生结局的关键策略，纳入相关项目和政策。未来的研究应评估父亲因素与不良出生结局风险的关联。
