Non-Hispanic White Women’s Exposure to Decreased Neighborhood Income and Small for Gestational Age Births: A Population-Based Study

Background The relationship between non-Hispanic White (NHW) women’s decreased neighborhood income between early-life and adulthood, individual risk-status at delivery, and small for gestational age (weight for gestation < 10th percentile, SGA) rates is unknown. Objective To determine the extent to which NHW women’s exposure to decreased neighborhood income is a risk factor for SGA births, and whether their own birth weight modifies this relationship. Methods Stratified and multilevel logistic regression analyses were executed on the Illinois transgenerational dataset of mothers (born 1956–1976) and their infants (born 1989–1991) with appended U.S. census income information. Only NHW women with an early-life residence in top income quartile Chicago neighborhoods were studied. Results NHW women (n = 4889) unexposed to decreased neighborhood income between early-life and adulthood had an SGA rate of 7.1%. In contrast, NHW women exposed to slightly (n = 5112), modestly (n = 2158), or severely (n = 339) decreased neighborhood income by the time of delivery had SGA rates of 8.2%, 10.8%, and 10.8%, respectively; RR (95% CI) equaled 1.2 (1.0–1.3), 1.5 (1.3–1.8) and 1.5 (1.1–2.1), respectively. The relationship between maternal exposure to modestly decreased neighborhood income and SGA rates was present only among former non-low birth weight (> 2500 g, non-LBW) mothers. In multilevel logistic regression models, the adjusted (controlling for age, parity, prenatal care usage, and cigarette smoking) OR of SGA birth for former low birth weight (< 2500 g, LBW) and non-LBW NHW women exposed to modestly (compared to no) decreased neighborhood income equaled 0.7 (0.4, 1.4) and 1.3 (1.1–1.6), respectively. Conclusions for Practice NHW women’s exposure to modestly decreased neighborhood income is associated with an increased risk of SGA birth; this phenomenon is absent among former low birth weight women.