Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Why African-American Women Are At Greater Risk For Pregnancy-Related Death, Margaret Harper, Elizabeth Dugan, Mark Espeland, Anibal Martinez-Borges, Cynthia Mcquellon

Elizabeth Dugan

PURPOSE: Our study aim was to identify factors that may contribute to the racial disparity in pregnancy-related mortality.

METHODS: We examined differences in severity of disease, comorbidities, and receipt of care among 608 (304 African-American and 304 white) consecutive patients of non-Hispanic ethnicity with one of three pregnancy-related morbidities (pregnancy-related hypertension, puerperal infection, and hemorrhage) from hospitals selected at random from a statewide region.

RESULTS: African-American women had more severe hypertension, lower hemoglobin concentrations preceding hemorrhage, more antepartum hospital admissions, and a higher rate of obesity. The rate of surgical intervention for hemorrhage was lower among African-Americans, although the severity …

Racial Disparity In Pregnancy-Related Mortality Following A Live Birth Outcome, Margaret Harper, Mark Espeland, Elizabeth Dugan, Robert Meyer, Kathy Lane, Sharon Williams

Elizabeth Dugan

PURPOSE: African-American women have a 2- to 4-fold increased risk of pregnancy-related death compared with Caucasian women. We conducted this study to determine if differences in a combination of socioeconomic and medical risk factors may explain this racial disparity in pregnancy-related death. METHODS: Pregnancy-related deaths of African-American (N=60) and Caucasian (N=47) women were identified from review of pregnancy-associated deaths (N=400) ascertained through cause of death on death certificates, electronic linkage of birth and death files, and review of the hospital discharge database for the State of North Carolina, during the period between 1992 and 1998. Controls (N=3404) were randomly selected …