Is Rural Residence an Independent Risk Factor for Spontaneous Preterm Birth at a Midwestern Tertiary Care Center? A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: Assess whether maternal rural residence was an independent risk factor (RF) for spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) at a Midwest tertiary care center. Methods: After excluding deliveries complicated by indications for induced preterm birth, there were 16 974 deliveries among 13 339 women bet...

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Main Authors: Abbie Lund, Barcey T. Levy, Yinghui Xu, David A. Bedell, Mark K. Santillan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2025-07-01
Series:Journal of Primary Care & Community Health
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319251357688
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author Abbie Lund
Barcey T. Levy
Yinghui Xu
David A. Bedell
Mark K. Santillan
author_facet Abbie Lund
Barcey T. Levy
Yinghui Xu
David A. Bedell
Mark K. Santillan
author_sort Abbie Lund
collection DOAJ
description Objective: Assess whether maternal rural residence was an independent risk factor (RF) for spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) at a Midwest tertiary care center. Methods: After excluding deliveries complicated by indications for induced preterm birth, there were 16 974 deliveries among 13 339 women between May 1, 2009, and May 31, 2023. Standard descriptive statistics and Generalized Linear Mixed Models were used to identify RFs for sPTB. Results: Of the 16 974 deliveries, 89.1% were full term, 28.8% were of rural mothers, and the mean maternal age was 29.6 years (y). 15.5% of rural deliveries were sPTBs versus only 9.1% of urban deliveries (P<.001). Significant independent RFs for sPTB included the extremes of maternal age (aOR, 2.14 for age 14 to <20 y and aOR, 3.37 for age ≥40 y) compared to age 20-<30 y, rural vs. urban residence (aOR, 1.56), maternal smoking (aOR, 2.47), transfer from an outside hospital (aOR, 671.3), and female sex of the baby (aOR, 0.79). With the transferred deliveries excluded these factors remained significant with similar aORs and Asian race was an additional significant protective factor (aOR, 0.57). Body mass index, race, ethnicity, type of medical insurance, and primigravidity were not significant RFs. Conclusion: Rural residence, extremes of maternal age, maternal smoking, female newborn sex, and transfer from an outside hospital were significant and independent RFs for sPTB.
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spelling doaj-art-20d79e0dfa1948218c5e0f2dc6e2b0182025-08-20T02:46:21ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Primary Care & Community Health2150-13272025-07-011610.1177/21501319251357688Is Rural Residence an Independent Risk Factor for Spontaneous Preterm Birth at a Midwestern Tertiary Care Center? A Cross-Sectional StudyAbbie Lund0Barcey T. Levy1Yinghui Xu2David A. Bedell3Mark K. Santillan4The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USADepartment of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USADepartment of Family and Community Medicine, The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USADepartment of Family and Community Medicine, The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USADepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USAObjective: Assess whether maternal rural residence was an independent risk factor (RF) for spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) at a Midwest tertiary care center. Methods: After excluding deliveries complicated by indications for induced preterm birth, there were 16 974 deliveries among 13 339 women between May 1, 2009, and May 31, 2023. Standard descriptive statistics and Generalized Linear Mixed Models were used to identify RFs for sPTB. Results: Of the 16 974 deliveries, 89.1% were full term, 28.8% were of rural mothers, and the mean maternal age was 29.6 years (y). 15.5% of rural deliveries were sPTBs versus only 9.1% of urban deliveries (P<.001). Significant independent RFs for sPTB included the extremes of maternal age (aOR, 2.14 for age 14 to <20 y and aOR, 3.37 for age ≥40 y) compared to age 20-<30 y, rural vs. urban residence (aOR, 1.56), maternal smoking (aOR, 2.47), transfer from an outside hospital (aOR, 671.3), and female sex of the baby (aOR, 0.79). With the transferred deliveries excluded these factors remained significant with similar aORs and Asian race was an additional significant protective factor (aOR, 0.57). Body mass index, race, ethnicity, type of medical insurance, and primigravidity were not significant RFs. Conclusion: Rural residence, extremes of maternal age, maternal smoking, female newborn sex, and transfer from an outside hospital were significant and independent RFs for sPTB.https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319251357688
spellingShingle Abbie Lund
Barcey T. Levy
Yinghui Xu
David A. Bedell
Mark K. Santillan
Is Rural Residence an Independent Risk Factor for Spontaneous Preterm Birth at a Midwestern Tertiary Care Center? A Cross-Sectional Study
Journal of Primary Care & Community Health
title Is Rural Residence an Independent Risk Factor for Spontaneous Preterm Birth at a Midwestern Tertiary Care Center? A Cross-Sectional Study
title_full Is Rural Residence an Independent Risk Factor for Spontaneous Preterm Birth at a Midwestern Tertiary Care Center? A Cross-Sectional Study
title_fullStr Is Rural Residence an Independent Risk Factor for Spontaneous Preterm Birth at a Midwestern Tertiary Care Center? A Cross-Sectional Study
title_full_unstemmed Is Rural Residence an Independent Risk Factor for Spontaneous Preterm Birth at a Midwestern Tertiary Care Center? A Cross-Sectional Study
title_short Is Rural Residence an Independent Risk Factor for Spontaneous Preterm Birth at a Midwestern Tertiary Care Center? A Cross-Sectional Study
title_sort is rural residence an independent risk factor for spontaneous preterm birth at a midwestern tertiary care center a cross sectional study
url https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319251357688
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