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Secular changes in the association between advanced maternal age and the risk of low birth weight: A cross-cohort comparison in the UK

Goisis, A; Schneider, DC; Myrskylä, M; (2018) Secular changes in the association between advanced maternal age and the risk of low birth weight: A cross-cohort comparison in the UK. Population Studies , 72 (3) pp. 381-397. 10.1080/00324728.2018.1442584. Green open access

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Abstract

Existing studies provide contradictory evidence concerning the association between child health and advanced maternal age. A potential explanation for the lack of consensus on this issue is changes over time in the costs and benefits of giving birth at an advanced age. This is the first study to investigate secular changes in the characteristics of older mothers and in the association between advanced maternal age and child health. We use data from four UK cohort studies, covering births from 1958 to 2001, and use low birth weight (LBW) as a marker for child health. We find that across successive birth cohorts, the negative association between advanced maternal age and LBW becomes progressively weaker; and that this pattern is partially explained by secular changes in the characteristics of older mothers. Our results suggest that associations between maternal age and child outcomes are tied to a specific population and point in time.

Type: Article
Title: Secular changes in the association between advanced maternal age and the risk of low birth weight: A cross-cohort comparison in the UK
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1080/00324728.2018.1442584
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1080/00324728.2018.1442584
Language: English
Additional information: This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: UK, child health, cross-cohort, maternal age, postponement, Adult, Alcohol Drinking, Child Health, Health Behavior, Humans, Infant, Low Birth Weight, Maternal Age, Middle Aged, Risk Factors, Smoking, Socioeconomic Factors, United Kingdom
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Social Research Institute
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10068324
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