Sociodemographic patterns of preterm birth and low birth weight among pregnant women in rural Mysore district, India: A latent class analysis

Few studies have utilized person-centered approaches to examine co-occurrence of risk factors among pregnant women in low-and middle-income settings. The objective of this study was to utilize latent class analysis (LCA) to identify sociodemographic patterns and assess the association of these patterns on preterm birth (PTB) and/or low birth weight (LBW) in rural Mysore District, India. Secondary data analysis of a prospective cohort study among 1540 pregnant women was conducted. Latent class analysis was performed to identify distinct group memberships based on a chosen set of sociodemographic factors. Binary logistic regression was conducted to estimate the association between latent classes and preterm birth and low birth weight. LCA yielded four latent classes. Women belonging to Class 1 "low socioeconomic status (SES)/early marriage/multigravida/1 child or more", had higher odds of preterm birth (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR): 95% Confidence Intervals (CI): 1.77, 95% CI: 1.05-2.97) compared to women in Class 4 "high SES/later marriage/primigravida/no children". Women in Class 2 "low SES/later marriage/primigravida/no children" had higher odds of low birth weight (aOR: 2.52, 95% CI: 1.51-4.22) compared to women in Class 4. Women less than 20 years old were twice as likely to have PTB compared to women aged 25 years and older (aOR: 2.00, 95% CI: 1.08-3.71). Hypertension (>140/>90 mm/Hg) was a significant determinant of PTB (aOR: 2.28, 95% CI: 1.02-5.07). Furthermore, women with a previous LBW infant had higher odds of delivering a subsequent LBW infant (aOR: 2.15, 95% CI: 1.40-3.29). Overall study findings highlighted that woman belonging to low socioeconomic status, and multigravida women had increased odds of preterm birth and low birth weight infants. Targeted government programs are crucial in reducing inequalities in preterm births and low birth weight infants in rural Mysore, India.