Association between maternal characteristics and neonatal birth weight in a Korean population living in the Seoul metropolitan area, Korea: a birth cohort study (COCOA)

Previous studies suggest that maternal characteristics may be associated with neonatal outcomes. However, the influence of maternal characteristics on birth weight (BW) has not been adequately determined in Korean populations. We investigated associations between maternal characteristics and BW in a sample of 813 Korean women living in the Seoul metropolitan area, Korea recruited using data from the prospective hospital-based COhort for Childhood Origin of Asthma and allergic diseases (COCOA) between 2007 and 2011. The mean maternal age at delivery was 32.3 ± 3.5 yr and prepregnancy maternal body mass index (BMI) was 20.7 ± 2.5 kg/m(2). The mean BW of infant was 3,196 ± 406 g. The overall prevalence of a maternal history of allergic disease was 32.9% and the overall prevalence of allergic symptoms was 65.1%. In multivariate regression models, prepregnancy maternal BMI and gestational age at delivery were positively and a maternal history of allergic disease and nulliparity were negatively associated with BW (all P < 0.05). Presence of allergic symptoms in the mother was not associated with BW. In conclusion, prepregnancy maternal BMI, gestational age at delivery, a maternal history of allergic disease, and nulliparity may be associated with BW, respectively.