Systemic inflammation, enteropathogenic E. Coli, and micronutrient insufficiencies in the first trimester as possible predictors of preterm birth in rural Bangladesh: a prospective study

Table 2 Associations between first-trimester maternal markers and preterm birth

			Unadjusted Model^a		Multivariable Model^b
Dichotomized Biomarker	Not Preterm (n = 329) n (%)	Preterm (n = 47) n (%)	OR^c(95% CI)	P-value	aOR^d(95% CI)	P-value
Inflammation^e	185 (56.2)	36 (76.6)	2.55 (1.29, 5.41)	0.010 *	2.23 (1.03, 5.16)	0.049*
Anemia (Hemoglobin < 11 g/dL)	84 (25.5)	20 (42.6)	2.16 (1.14, 4.04)	0.016 *	2.56 (1.26, 5.17)	0.009*
Vitamin B12 Insufficiency (Vitamin B12 < 200 \(\rho\)mol/L)	24 (7.3)	10 (21.3)	3.43 (1.47, 7.58)	0.003 *	3.33 (1.29, 8.21)	0.010*
Vitamin A Insufficiency (RBP4 < 1.05 \(\mu\)mol/L)	64 (19.5)	5 (10.6)	0.49 (0.17, 1.19)	0.151	0.55 (0.17, 1.43)	0.258
Folate Deficiency (Folate < 6.7 nmol/L)	40 (12.2)	8 (17.0)	1.48 (0.61, 3.26)	0.353	1.35 (0.50, 3.34)	0.537

^aLogistic regression models fit for each predictor individually without covariate adjustment
^bLogistic regression model including all predictors listed in table, adjusted for baby sex (male or female), maternal BMI (kg/m²), maternal age (< 18 years, 18–35 years, or > 35 years), maternal years of education (> 10 years, 6–10 years, 1–5 years, or no education), maternal parity (> 2, 1–2, or 0), fuel types (dung/wood/charcoal/straw/shrubs/grass/agricultural crops, or LPG/electricity), delivery mode (C-section, or vaginal), maternal wealth index (poorest, poorer, middle, richer, richest), and evidence of hypertensive disease or pre-eclampsia (no or yes)
^cOdds ratio
^dAdjusted odds ratio
^eDefined as elevated Alpha 1 AGP (serum concentration > 1 g/L) or elevated CRP (serum concentration > 8 mg/L)
*P-value below significance level of 0.05

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