Objective: To investigate the association between maternal body height and risk of preterm birth. Methods: A total of 11 311 pregnant women who gave birth of live singletons were recruited from the Healthy Baby Cohort Study in Hubei province, China from September 2012 to October 2014. Finally 11 070 pregnant women were selected as study subjects. Data were collected by using questionnaires, their prenatal care records and medical records. The women were divided into 4 groups according to the quartiles distribution (<158 cm, 158- cm, 160- cm, and >164 cm). Gestational age was estimated according to maternal last menstrual time. Preterm birth was defined as delivering a live singleton infant at 28-37 weeks' gestational age. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between body height and preterm birth. Results: Among the 11 070 pregnant women, the incidence of preterm birth was 5.9%. Logistic regression analysis indicated that women in group with body height <158 cm had 46% (OR=1.46, 95%CI: 1.16-1.83) higher risk of giving preterm birth than those in group with body height >164 cm after adjustment for potential confounders. Every 1- cm increase in body height was associated with 3% lower risk of preterm birth (OR=0.97, 95%CI: 0.95-0.99). Conclusion: Shorter body height was a risk factor for preterm birth. It is necessary to strengthen the monitoring in pregnant women with short body height to reduce the risk of preterm birth.
目的： 探讨母亲身高与早产的关系。 方法： 研究数据来自武汉健康宝贝出生队列。2012年9月至2014年10月，该队列招募11 311名在武汉市妇女儿童医疗保健中心分娩单胎活产儿的孕妇。通过问卷调查、查阅保健手册和病历记录收集资料。共选取11 070名孕妇作为研究对象。根据身高的四分位数将研究对象分为4组（<158、158~、160~以及>164 cm）。依据末次月经确定孕周，并将妊娠满28周至不足37周间的分娩定义为早产。采用logistic回归分析计算身高与早产的OR值以及95%CI。 结果： 11 070名孕妇早产发生率为5.9%（650/11 070）。控制了可能的混杂因素后，logistic回归分析显示，身高<158 cm组发生早产的风险较身高>164 cm组增加46%（OR=1.46，95%CI：1.16~1.83）。身高每增加1 cm，早产的风险减少3%（OR=0.97，95%CI：0.95~0.99）。 结论： 身高较矮的孕妇其早产风险增加，应加强对该类型孕妇的监测，降低早产的发生风险。.
Keywords: Body height; Preterm birth; Risk factor.