ArticleLancet regional health. Americas2021
Socioeconomic inequalities in low birth weight risk before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina: A cross-sectional study.
Article in Lancet regional health. Americas, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on preterm birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Public health · 2022Pooled it
- Association of Mandatory COVID-19 Lockdown Exposure with Increased Maternal Prenatal Smoking and Reduced Fetal Head Growth: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Maternal and child health journal · 2026Article
- Article
- Effect of the COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai on maternal and neonatal outcomes.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Trends of Multiple Births in Iran from 2014 to 2023.Journal of reproduction & infertility · 2025Article
- Association ofViruses · 2024Article
- Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on low birth weight in a nationwide study in India.Communications medicine · 2024Article
- The synergistic impact of Universal Health Coverage and Global Health Security on health service delivery during the Coronavirus Disease-19 pandemic: A difference-in-difference study of childhood immunization coverage from 192 countries.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Inflammation induces stunting by lowering bone mass via GH/IGF-1 inhibition in very preterm infants.Pediatric research · 2023Article
- Article
- Trends and characteristics of multiple births in Baoan Shenzhen: A retrospective study over a decade.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
21 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have exacerbated existing socioeconomic inequalities in health. In Argentina, public hospitals serve the poorest uninsured segment of the population, while private hospitals serve patients with health insurance. This study aimed to assess whether socioeconomic inequalities in low birth weight (LBW) risk changed during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsThis multicenter cross-sectional study included 15929 infants. A difference-in-difference (DID) analysis of socioeconomic inequalities between public and private hospitals in LBW risk in a pandemic cohort (March 20 to July 19, 2020) was compared with a prepandemic cohort (March 20 to July 19, 2019) by using medical records obtained from ten hospitals. Infants were categorized by weight as LBW < 2500 g, very low birth weight (VLBW) < 1500 g and extremely low birth weight (ELBW) < 1000 g. Log binomial regression was performed to estimate risk differences with an interaction term representing the DID estimator. Covariate-adjusted models included potential perinatal confounders.
findingsOf the 8437 infants in the prepandemic cohort, 4887 (57•9%) were born in public hospitals. The pandemic cohort comprised 7492 infants, 4402 (58•7%) of whom were born in public hospitals. The DID estimators indicated no differences between public versus private hospitals for LBW risk (-1•8% [95% CI -3•6, 0•0]) and for ELBW risk (-0•1% [95% CI -0•6, 0•3]). Significant differences were found between public versus private hospitals in the DID estimators (-1•2% [95% CI, -2•1, -0•3]) for VLBW risk. The results were comparable in covariate-adjusted models.
interpretationIn this study, we found evidence of decreased disparities between public and private hospitals in VLBW risk. Our findings suggest that measures that prioritize social spending to protect the most vulnerable pregnant women during the pandemic contributed to better birth outcomes.
fundingNo funding was secured for this study.
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