Assessing Neighborhood Deprivation on Birth Outcomes: A Study of Low Birth Weight in Phoenix, Arizona [ID 1132]

INTRODUCTION: Health inequities, particularly in birth weight outcomes, begin before birth and are shaped by various factors including race, social class, and environment. Research indicates that Black women in the United States are significantly more likely to have low birth weight babies compared to White women, whereas Latina women do not experience similar disparities. This study investigates the role of neighborhood deprivation—measured by the Area Deprivation Index—in influencing these outcomes in a sample of women in Phoenix, Arizona. METHODS: Using multilevel modeling, we analyzed whether neighborhood deprivation (assessed with the Area Deprivation Index) influenced the association between demographic and pregnancy risk and protective factors on birth weight outcomes. RESULTS: Our findings align with existing literature, revealing that Black and Asian women had babies with significantly lower birth weight than their White counterparts, whereas Hispanic women showed no significant difference in birth weight from White women. Furthermore, increased neighborhood deprivation appears to exacerbate the effect of certain risk factors, such as race, preeclampsia, and gestational hypertension, while diminishing the effects of protective factors, like gestational age and parity. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: These results underscore the complex interplay between individual and place-based factors in determining birth weight outcomes, highlighting the need for targeted interventions addressing both social determinants and health care disparities.