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Racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes through 1 year of life in infants born prematurely: a population based study in California

Journal of Perinatology volume 41, pages 220–231 (2021)Cite this article

Subjects

A Correction to this article was published on 29 March 2021

This article has been updated

Abstract

Objectives

To investigate racial/ethnic differences in rehospitalization and mortality rates among premature infants over the first year of life.

Study design

A retrospective cohort study of infants born in California from 2011 to 2017 (n = 3,448,707) abstracted from a California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development database. Unadjusted Kaplan–Meier tables and logistic regression controlling for health and sociodemographic characteristics were used to predict outcomes by race/ethnicity.

Results

Compared to White infants, Hispanic and Black early preterm infants were more likely to be readmitted; Black late/moderate preterm (LMPT) infants were more likely to be readmitted and to die after discharge; Hispanic and Black early preterm infants with BPD were more likely to be readmitted; Black LMPT infants with RDS were more likely to be readmitted and die after discharge.

Conclusions

Racial/ethnic disparities in readmission and mortality rates exist for premature infants across several co-morbidities. Future studies are needed to improve equitability of outcomes.

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Fig. 2: Kaplan Meier Plots.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Kayla L. Karvonen, Elizabeth E. Rogers, Martina A. Steurer, James G. Anderson, Dawn Gano, Mark A. Petersen & Matthew S. Pantell

  2. California Preterm Birth Initiative, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Rebecca J. Baer, Elizabeth E. Rogers, Martina A. Steurer, Kelli K. Ryckman, Sky K. Feuer, James G. Anderson, Linda S. Franck, Dawn Gano, Mark A. Petersen, Scott P. Oltman, Brittany D. Chambers, Larry Rand, Laura L. Jelliffe-Pawlowski & Matthew S. Pantell

  3. Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Rebecca J. Baer

  4. Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    Kelli K. Ryckman

  5. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Sky K. Feuer

  6. Department of Family Health Care Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Linda S. Franck

  7. Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Scott P. Oltman, Brittany D. Chambers, John Neuhaus, Larry Rand & Laura L. Jelliffe-Pawlowski

Authors
  1. Kayla L. Karvonen
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  2. Rebecca J. Baer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kayla L. Karvonen.

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The original online version of this article was revised: One of the authors of this article has been misspelled. Mark A. Peterson should be Mark A. Petersen.

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Karvonen, K.L., Baer, R.J., Rogers, E.E. et al. Racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes through 1 year of life in infants born prematurely: a population based study in California. J Perinatol 41, 220–231 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-021-00919-9

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