Yinghui Liu ^1*, Jianmeng Liu ¹, Rongwei Ye ¹, Aiguo Ren ¹, Song Li ², Zhu Li ¹

¹ Institute of Reproductive and Child Health, Peking University
² Peking Universtiy Third Hospital

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: liuyh{at}ncmih.bjmu.edu.cn.

	Abstract

Objectives. We examined whether education-related inequalities were associated with the occurrence of low birthweight in 6 counties in southern China in the early and late 1990s.

Methods. The study population consisted of 111181 women (65669 in the early 1990s and 45482 in the late 1990s) in a population-based Perinatal Health Care Surveillance System. We used the 2 test, logistic regression, and concentration index for our analyses.

Results. From the early to late 1990s, the mean maternal education level increased significantly, and the percentage of low-birthweight births declined among all groups, for both male and female births, and at all levels of the mother’s education. Relative to those with less than 9 years of formal education, there was a decreasing risk of low birthweight among those with 9 to 11 years of formal education (range in adjusted odds ratio=0.69–0.82) and with 12 or more years of formal education (range in adjusted odds ratio=0.51–0.74). Between the early and late 1990s, the concentration index changed from –0.0778 to –0.0656 for male births and from –0.0717 to –0.0813 for female births.

Conclusions. Education-related inequalities associated with low birthweight persisted from the early to the late 1990s in surveyed areas.

Key Words: Gender, Maternal and Infant Health, Birth Outcomes, Rural Health