Race, Ethnicity May Be Indicators Of Risk Factors For Pregnancy-Related Mortality.

2001 JUN 14 - (NewsRx Network) -- A new study on pregnancy-related deaths among specific racial and ethnic groups in the United States reports that Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American-Indian/Alaska-Native women had a significantly higher risk of death related to pregnancy than non-Hispanic white women.

Between 1991 and 1997, there were 3,193 pregnancy-related deaths (deaths due to pregnancy that occurred to women during their pregnancy or within a year after the end of pregnancy). This translated into an overall ratio of 11.5 pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 live births. (This is often referred to as the pregnancy-related mortality ratio, or PRMR. )

During the study period, the PRMR for Hispanic women was 10.3; for Asian/Pacific Islanders, 11.3; and for American Indians/Alaska Natives, 12.2. These ratios are much higher than for white women in the same age range, with a PRMR of 7.3. However, black women had the highest death rate, with an overall PRMR of 29.6.

"Despite advances in public health and obstetrics over the past century, not all women have a safe and healthy pregnancy," said CDC director Dr. Jeffrey Koplan. "This report, which delineates disparities in pregnancy-related deaths among women in specific racial and ethnic groups, helps expand our understanding of why death rates differ and what we can do to prevent them."

Among all race and ethnic groups, the risk of death due to pregnancy was lowest among women under 30 and rose after age 35.

The CDC analysis also found additional factors to be as important as racial/ethnic status for some groups ("Pregnancy-related death Among Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women, United States, 1991-1997," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, May 11, 2001). For example, Hispanic women who were born outside the 50 states and the ...