From 2011 to 2022, California experienced an increase in preterm birth rates

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 2, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Preterm birth (PTB) rates in California increased in most groups between 2011 and 2022, according to a study published online Sept. 27 JAMA network opened.

Laura L. Jelliffe-Pawlowski, Ph.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues sought to describe the relationship between gestational age (PTB) rates

The researchers found that the overall PTB rate increased from 6.8 to 7.5 percent from 2011 to 2022 (change 10.6 percent; z-score of 18.5). Differences in PTB rates and their changes were observed across racial and ethnic groups, as well as insurance groups. In 2022, PTB rates ranged from 5.8 percent for whites with nongovernmental health insurance to 11.3 percent for blacks with public health insurance. PTB rates decreased from 9.1 percent in 2011 to 8.8 percent in 2022 (change -3.5 percent; z-score of -0.8) among blacks with nonpublic insurance, but increased from 6.4 to 9.5 percent (change: 49.8 percent; Z-score of 3.1). ) for American Indians or Alaska Natives with non-governmental insurance. In most groups, there was an increase in some risk factors (e.g., pre-existing diabetes, sexually transmitted infections, mental illness) while a decrease in some protective factors (e.g., participation in the California Program for Women, Infants, and Children). observed primarily in people at low risk. Income groups.

“These results suggest that there is an urgent need to address the factors associated with PTB at both the individual and population levels,” the authors write.

Several authors announced that a patent is pending for tools to predict PTB and a model to identify premature infants at risk of adverse outcomes.

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