Racial discrepancies in the association between paternal vs. maternal educational level and risk of low birthweight in Washington State

Table 4 Association between risk of low birthweight and maternal vs. paternal education after serial adjustments for other potential confounders.

Adjustments	Maternal Education OR * (95% CI †)	Paternal Education OR * (95% CI †)
Whites
none	2.0 (1.8–2.2)	1.9 (1.7–2.1)
other parent's education	1.6 (1.4–1.8)	1.5 (1.4–1.7)
above + parental demographics	1.6 (1.5–1.8)	1.5 (1.4–1.7)
above + health services factors	1.5 (1.4–1.7)	1.4 (1.3–1.6)
above + maternal factors	1.5 (1.3–1.7)	1.3 (1.2–1.5)
Non-whites
maternal and paternal race	1.0 (0.8–1.1)	1.1 (0.9–1.2)
above + other parent's education	0.9 (0.7–1.1)	1.2 (1.0–1.5)
above + parental demographics	0.9 (0.7–1.1)	1.2 (0.9–1.3)
above + health services factors	0.8 (0.6–1.0)	1.3 (1.1–1.7)
above + maternal factors	0.8 (0.7–1.1)	1.4 (1.1–1.8)

All odds ratios compare the group where the parent had not graduated from high school to group where the parent had graduated from college. Parental demographics includes parental ages, immigration status, and marital status. Health services factors include maternal insurance status and trimester of initiation of prenatal care. Maternal factors include parity, smoking, diabetes, and alcohol use. * OR: Odds ratio. † 95% CI: 95% confidence interval.