Abstract
There is abundant literature on the birth outcomes of women of Mexican origin living in the United States, but in most cases
it does not refer to data available in Mexico. We conducted a systematic review of available data regarding low birthweight
(LBW) rates in Mexico. We searched official online Mexican administrative data bases and four literature databases: OVID (Global
Health), EMBASE, PubMed, and Bireme. The following inclusion criteria were used: (1) study is in English, Spanish, or Portuguese;
(2) study presents data regarding LBW or birthweight distribution in Mexico; (3) study defines LBW as either < or ≤2,500 g;
(4) study population includes newborn children; and, (5) LBW was a primary interest of the study. Because altitude influences
birthweight, it was taken into account when comparing regions. Birth certificate data showed LBW rates of 8.2% in 2008 and
8.5% in 2009 among live births with known birthweights. In 2009, high altitude (≥2,000 m) federal entities (states and Mexico
City) had LBW rates higher than the median (>7.9%). States at low altitudes (<50 m) had LBW rates lower than the median, with
the exception of Yucatán state. The systematic literature review identified 22 hospital-based studies and three household
interview surveys that met our inclusion criteria. The hospital-based LBW rates were relatively similar to the birth certificate
data and slightly lower than survey data. Data on LBW rates are available in Mexico. They should be analyzed further and used
for comparative studies.
it does not refer to data available in Mexico. We conducted a systematic review of available data regarding low birthweight
(LBW) rates in Mexico. We searched official online Mexican administrative data bases and four literature databases: OVID (Global
Health), EMBASE, PubMed, and Bireme. The following inclusion criteria were used: (1) study is in English, Spanish, or Portuguese;
(2) study presents data regarding LBW or birthweight distribution in Mexico; (3) study defines LBW as either < or ≤2,500 g;
(4) study population includes newborn children; and, (5) LBW was a primary interest of the study. Because altitude influences
birthweight, it was taken into account when comparing regions. Birth certificate data showed LBW rates of 8.2% in 2008 and
8.5% in 2009 among live births with known birthweights. In 2009, high altitude (≥2,000 m) federal entities (states and Mexico
City) had LBW rates higher than the median (>7.9%). States at low altitudes (<50 m) had LBW rates lower than the median, with
the exception of Yucatán state. The systematic literature review identified 22 hospital-based studies and three household
interview surveys that met our inclusion criteria. The hospital-based LBW rates were relatively similar to the birth certificate
data and slightly lower than survey data. Data on LBW rates are available in Mexico. They should be analyzed further and used
for comparative studies.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-7
- DOI 10.1007/s10995-012-0956-4
- Authors
- Pierre Buekens, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, 1440 Canal St., Ste. 2430, New Orleans, LA 70112-2705, USA
- Caitlin Canfield, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, 1440 Canal St., Ste. 2430, New Orleans, LA 70112-2705, USA
- Nicolas Padilla, Division of Health Sciences and Engineering, Department of Nursing and Obstetrics, Campus Celaya Salvatierra, University of Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico
- Elia Lara Lona, General Hospital of Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico
- Rafael Lozano, Global Health Department, Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Journal Maternal and Child Health Journal
- Online ISSN 1573-6628
- Print ISSN 1092-7875