A Case-Control Study on Prenatal Factors of Newborn's Mild Jaundice

Jaundice is one of the most common diseases of infants in the first week after birth. Almost 60% of preterm newborns suffer from jaundice. This research was conducted to study the prenatal factors related to jaundice in newborns. This case-control research was conducted on 197 newborns with jaundice (cases) and 250 healthy newborns (controls) by using household records of urban health center of Dastgerd-e-Barkhar in Isfahan province in 1391. The prenatal variables were included as mother’s age، parity، number of delivery، mean body temperature، pulse rate، systolic and diastolic blood pressures، breathing rate، mother’s weight and BMI، mother’s age >35 and <18 years، pregnancy interval <3 years، multiple pregnancy، mother’s low weight، gestational diabetes، cesarean history، stillbirth history، family history of diabetes، negative RH، preterm birth، cesarean birth، mother’s blood type and season of birth. Data was analyzed by SPSS 18. 0 via descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression. According to univariate analysis، mother’s weight during pregnancy، mother’s age، family history of diabetes and a thalassemia minor in mother were associated significantly with newborns jaundice. Using multivariate logistic regression by forward stepwise method، only mother’s low weight (OR = 2. 68) and family history of diabetes (OR = 1. 63) had significant relationship with newborns jaundice. One of the strengths of this study compared to other studies on neonatal jaundice in Iran was methodology and the existence of control group to assess the risk factors. It seems that further studies with larger sample size and variables can help us to understand the risk factors and prevent adverse consequences in the future.