National Center for Child Health and Development Reports Findings in Data Analytics (Pre-pregnancy body mass index and low birthweight: Secondary data analysis using health insurance claims data in Japan): Information Technology – Data Analytics

2024 JUN 04 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Information Technology - Data Analytics is the subject of a report. According to news reporting out of Tokyo, Japan, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “For women, being underweight increases their susceptibility to osteoporosis, anemia, and other conditions and affects the weight of their infants and the well-being of future generations. This study examined the association between low pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and low birthweight using health insurance claims data and health checkup data, including weight measurements.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from National Center for Child Health and Development, “We used health insurance claims data and health checkup data (JMDC, Tokyo, Japan) of women and their newborns in Japan between 2006 and 2020. We used checkup data, which included more accurate weight measurements and blood test-based diagnoses of anemia and hyperlipidemia compared to self-reported data. Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was compared across three groups: underweight (BMI <18.5 kg/m), normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m), and overweight (BMI 25.0 kg/m). The primary outcome was low birthweight (<2500 g), and secondary outcome was preterm childbirth. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare outcomes in the three groups by BMI. The underweight BMI group was considered as the reference group. A subgroup analysis was performed by maternal age. In total, 16 363 mothers (underweight, 3418 [21%], normal weight, 11 493 [70%], and overweight, 1452 [8.9%]) were included. The risk of primary outcome (low birthweight) was significantly lower in the normal weight group than in the underweight group (4.6% vs. 5.7%; adjusted odds ratio 0.78 [95% confidence interval: 0.65-0.96]). In the subgroup analyses, no significant differences were noted in the incidences of low birthweight and preterm childbirth between maternal age groups. Pre-pregnancy BMI was associated with an increased risk of delivering low-birthweight infant.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Awareness about the importance of women’s pre-pregnancy health and appropriate BMI may reduce the incidence of low birthweight.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Pre-pregnancy body mass index and low birthweight: Secondary data analysis using health insurance claims data in Japan. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research, 2024. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research can be contacted at: Wiley, 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, NJ, USA. (Wiley-Blackwell - http://www.wiley.com/; Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1447-0756)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Maiko Suto, Division of Health Policy, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan. Additional authors for this research include Kana Fukui, Kayoko Kaneko, Tetsuya Isayama, Yushi Ito and Kenji Takehara.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1111/jog.15973. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research is: Wiley, 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, NJ, USA.

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