TY - GEN A1 - Scholaske, Laura A1 - Brose, Annette A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Entringer, Sonja T1 - Perceived discrimination and risk of preterm birth among Turkish immigrant women in Germany T2 - Social Science & Medicine N2 - Background: Health disparities, including adverse birth outcomes, exist between Turkish immigrants and the autochthonous population in Germany. The state of research on the risk of preterm birth (PTB, defined as <37 weeks of gestation), the leading cause of infant mortality and morbidity, among Turkish immigrant women is mixed. Perceived discrimination is discussed in the context of health disparities related to migration. We examined whether PTB risk is also increased in Turkish immigrant women in Germany and whether perceived discrimination due to origin contributes to this risk. Methods: We selected a sample from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study of German autochthonous and Turkish immigrant women who recently gave birth (between 2002 and 2016) (N = 2,525, incl. n = 217 Turkish immigrant women of which n = 111 completed an item on perceived discrimination). The included variables of central interest were immigrant status, perceived discrimination, gestational age, and socioeconomic situation. Results: Logistic regression models indicated that PTB risk was significantly higher for Turkish immigrant women than autochthonous women (OR: 2.75, 95% CI [1.79–4.16]), even when adjusting for socioeconomic status. Within the subsample of Turkish immigrant women, perceived discrimination was related to a significantly higher PTB risk (OR: 4.91, 95% CI [1.76–15.06]). Conclusions: Our study provides evidence for a higher PTB risk in Turkish immigrant women compared to autochthonous women in Germany. Perceived discrimination may contribute to this higher risk. The findings represent an important first step towards developing targeted interventions to improve pregnancy and birth outcomes in minority groups. KW - Perceived discrimination KW - Preterm birth KW - Turkish immigrants KW - Health disparities Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112427 SN - 0277-9536 SN - 1873-5347 SN - 0037-7856 VL - 236 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Scholaske, Laura A1 - Brose, Annette A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Entringer, Sonja T1 - The role of discrimination for the risk of preterm birth among Turkish immigrant women T2 - European Journal of Public Health N2 - Background: Preterm birth (PTB) is one of the most severe risk factors for early child death and developmental impairment. Epidemiological research suggests that immigrants from lower to higher income countries exhibit a health decline over time that is transmitted to the offspring generation in which health disparities become prevalent already at a very early age in terms of adverse birth outcomes. Perceived discrimination (PD) is discussed in the context of health disparities related to migration. The relationship between PD and health outcomes is still understudied among Turkish immigrants in Germany. We examined whether PD contributes to PTB risk in Turkish immigrant women. Methods: We used data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). The newborn questionnaire (“Mother-Child: Age 0-1”, 2003 – 2016, v33) provided information on birth outcomes and we included information on maternal socioeconomic situation, migration background and PD due to origin (for Turkish immigrant women only) that were collected in the survey before birth. The final sample comprised N = 2,525 (8.60% Turkish immigrant women). A dummy variable indicating occurrence of PTB (0 = non PTB, i.e. ≥ 37 wks of gestation, 1 = PTB, i.e. < 37 weeks of gestation) was used as the outcome variable in logistic regression models. Results: Logistic regression models on the whole sample indicated a higher risk of PTB among Turkish compared to German native women (OR: 2.75) that remained after adjusting for socioeconomic status. Within the subsample of Turkish women, prenatal PD was related to a higher risk for PTB (OR: 4.91). Conclusions: Unlike in other studies we found evidence for a higher prevalence of PTB among Turkish immigrant women in the SOEP data. PD may explain the prevalence of PTB among Turkish immigrant women in Germany. There is a need for further research examining the impact of discrimination on the intergenerational transmission of health disparities among Turkish immigrants in Germany. KW - premature birth KW - immigrants KW - turkish Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/cky213.566 SN - 1464-360X SN - 1101-1262 VL - 28 IS - 4 SP - 192 EP - 192 ER -