Non-Hispanic Black individuals have a significantly higher rate of pre-term births than non-Hispanic white individuals, reports a recent Northwestern Medicine study.

In 2019, nearly 12% of non-Hispanic Black individuals experienced preterm births compared with 7% of non-Hispanic white individuals.

This is vital because this represents numerous individuals who’re being born early every 12 months which have much higher risk for bad health outcomes and is significantly different between non-Hispanic Black and white individuals.”

Dr. Sadiya Khan, corresponding creator, assistant professor of medication in cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine cardiologist

The study found that pre-pregnancy cardiovascular health explained 8% of the racial difference while social determinants of health explained 20% of the racial difference between Black and white pregnant individuals.

That is the primary study that helps explain which of the individual-level maternal health aspects (obesity, diabetes, hypertension) and socioeconomic aspects (insurance, prenatal care, education) could be targeted to enhance birth outcomes and the way much each contributes to differences in preterm birth.

“Differences that occur when someone is born early can have vital implications not only for the primary 12 months of life, but in addition throughout their life,” Khan said. “Being born early is linked to a better risk of getting heart disease and affects neurodevelopment.”

The study will probably be published Aug. 7 within the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The study included greater than 2 million individuals who identified as non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic Black who had a live birth in 2019. It also utilized data from birth registration records from the National Center for Health Statistics, which collects data on all live births.

“Pre-term birth is the start line for racial differences across the life course, not only in childhood,” Khan said.

One big problem, she said, is the lack of Medicaid for tens of millions of individuals within the last three months.

“Should you haven’t got health insurance while you turn out to be pregnant, you might be much less prone to get prenatal or cardiovascular care,” Khan said. “Prenatal care in the primary trimester is critical to improving birth outcomes.”

Khan said two-thirds of the differences causing pre-term birth weren’t explained by the aspects they identified within the study.

“We want to know the issue so we will fix it,” Khan said. “Understanding racial differences in preterm birth is critical to identifying opportunities for prevention and awareness.”

Other Northwestern authors are Dr. Priya Mehta, Dr. Natalie Cameron, Dr. Priya Freaney, Dr. Amanda Perak, Dr. Nilay Shah, Dr. William Grobman, Dr. Philip Greenland and Kiarri Kershaw.

The paper is titled: “Association of Pre-pregnancy Risk Aspects with Racial Differences in Preterm Birth Rates.”

The research was funded by grant HL161514 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.