{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:27:47Z","timestamp":1787027267159,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":69,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,4]],"date-time":"2024-01-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1704326400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We examined over a million California birth records for 2010 through 2021 to investigate whether disparities in preterm birth (PTB) by nativity and race support the widely held but hitherto unsubstantiated belief that genetic differences explain the persistent Black-White disparity in PTB.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We examined PTB rates and risk ratios among African-, Caribbean-, and U.S.-born Black women compared to U.S.-born White women. Multivariate analyses adjusted for maternal age, education, number of live births, delivery payer, trimester of prenatal care initiation, pre-pregnancy BMI, smoking, and prevalence of poverty in a woman\u2019s residence census tract; and for paternal education.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In adjusted analyses, African-born Black women\u2019s PTB rates were no different from those of U.S.-born White women.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The results add to prior evidence making a genetic etiology for the racial disparity in PTB unlikely. If genetic differences tied to \u201crace\u201d explained the Black-White disparity in PTB among U.S.-born women, the African immigrants in this study would have had higher rates of PTB, not the lower rates observed. Multiple explanations for the observed patterns and their implications are discussed. Failure to distinguish causes of PTB from causes of the racial disparity in PTB have likely contributed to erroneous attribution of the racial disparity to genetic differences. Based on the literature, unmeasured experiences of racism, including racism-related stress and adverse environmental exposures, are plausible explanations for the PTB disparity between Black and White U.S.-born women. The favorable birth outcomes of African-born Black immigrants may reflect less exposure to racism during sensitive life periods, e.g., childhood, when they were in African countries, where Black people are in the racial majority.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2023.1321331","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,3]],"date-time":"2024-01-03T23:49:56Z","timestamp":1704325796000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["African immigrants\u2019 favorable preterm birth rates challenge genetic etiology of the Black-White disparity in preterm birth"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Paula","family":"Braveman","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Katherine","family":"Heck","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tyan Parker","family":"Dominguez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kristen","family":"Marchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wylie","family":"Burke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nicole","family":"Holm","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"199","DOI":"10.1007\/s12519-011-0290-8","article-title":"An overview of morbidity, mortality and long-term outcome of late preterm birth","volume":"7","author":"Dong","year":"2011","journal-title":"World J Pediatr"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"261","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(08)60136-1","article-title":"An overview of mortality and sequelae of preterm birth from infancy to adulthood","volume":"371","author":"Saigal","year":"2008","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"390","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpeds.2012.03.048","article-title":"Does preterm birth influence cardiovascular risk in early adulthood?","volume":"161","author":"Kerkhof","year":"2012","journal-title":"J Pediatr"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e1240","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.2012-2177","article-title":"Preterm birth and the metabolic syndrome in adult life: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"131","author":"Parkinson","year":"2013","journal-title":"Pediatrics"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"736","DOI":"10.1001\/jamapediatrics.2019.1327","article-title":"Association of Preterm Birth with Risk of ischemic heart disease in adulthood","volume":"173","author":"Crump","year":"2019","journal-title":"JAMA Pediatr"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1056","DOI":"10.1017\/S0022050704043086","article-title":"Race and pregnancy outcomes in the twentieth century: a long-term comparison","volume":"64","author":"Costa","year":"2004","journal-title":"J Econ Hist"},{"key":"ref7","volume-title":"Births: final data for 2006","author":"Martin","year":"2009"},{"key":"ref8","volume-title":"Births: provisional data for 2019","author":"Hamilton","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"131.e1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajog.2006.06.093","article-title":"Racial disparity in the frequency of recurrence of preterm birth","volume":"196","author":"Kistka","year":"2007","journal-title":"Am J Obstet Gynecol"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"40","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpeds.2017.10.052","article-title":"Divergent patterns of mitochondrial and nuclear ancestry are associated with the risk for preterm birth","volume":"194","author":"Crawford","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Pediatr"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1317","DOI":"10.1016\/S0002-9378(96)70048-0","article-title":"Medical, psychosocial, and behavioral risk factors do not explain the increased risk for low birth weight among black women","volume":"175","author":"Goldenberg","year":"1996","journal-title":"Am J Obstet Gynecol"},{"key":"ref12","volume-title":"Institute of Medicine Committee on understanding premature birth and assuring healthy outcomes. 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