Advisory Committee Chair
Luz Padilla
Advisory Committee Members
Russel L Griffin
Gerald McGwin
Akila Subramaniam
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2021
Degree Name by School
Master of Science (MS) School of Public Health
Abstract
Research investigating the association between pregnant women with COVID-19 infection and adverse birth outcomes, including preterm birth, having been contradicting. Individual differences between study populations, e.g., racial composition, may explain some of these inconsistencies. The aim of the present study is to determine if the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and pre-term birth varies according to race. A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Vizient Clinical Data Base/Research Manager (CDB/RM). The study participants were women who gave birth in one of the Vizient facilities between March 2020 and January 2021. A positive COVID-19 test status was the primary exposure with preterm birth (<37 weeks) being the primary outcome of interest. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association between COVID-19 and preterm birth adjusted for demographic and clinical characteristics, stratified by race. There were 641,598 deliveries in the study population of which 12,035 (1.9%) were to women who had ever tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The results suggested among those who were Black, Hispanic, or of other racial/ethnic group there was an increased odds ratio for the association between COVID-19 and preterm birth. Current results suggest that COVID-19 is independently associated with pre-term birth in most racial and ethnic groups. The odds for some poor pregnancy outcomes also seem to be iv higher among those who were COVID-19 positive. Future studies that explore the effects of COVID-19 on pregnancy outcomes should consider accounting for possible racial and ethnic variation.
Recommended Citation
McGwin, Madeleine B., "An Analysis of Preterm Birth Related to SARS-COV-2 Infection by Race" (2021). All ETDs from UAB. 527.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/527