Factors associated with intrauterine malnutrition in term newborns

Abstract

We conducted a case-control study to evaluate the epidemiological association between low birth weight and some demographic socioeconomic and biological variables in Cali, Colombia. We ascertained 69 cases and 71 controls from nine maternal clinics in the city. We found a global prevalence of 3.45% of intrauterine growth retardation. The variables we found, exercising proximate biological influences were the following: mother's age RR=25.82, with 95% confidence limits (CL) from 8.83 to 75.49, Mantel-Haenszel estimate, the nutritional depletion of the mother, student test = 3.00 with 119 degrees of freedom (df), a prior low birth weight son, RR=9.5, 95% CL from 2.25 to 40.12, prior abnormal menstruations, RR = 4.7, 95% CL from 1.22 to 18.25 and the deficiency of prenatal care, fisher exact probability test, Pk=0.012, p < 0.05.