Περίληψη:
Background: Starting in 2008 recession affected many European countries
and especially Greece. Previous studies have reported increases in low
birth weight, preterm birth and stillbirth rates in Greece during early
crisis. In our study we used data on births from 1980 to 2014 that
allowed us to distinguish recent changes, which could possibly be
attributed to the financial crisis, from long term trends, and
controlled for maternal age and country of origin as potential
confounders. Our study covered a longer period (up to 2014) than what
has been studied before and looked separately at the effect of early and
established crisis. Methods: We used national vital statistics data from
1980 to 2014. We performed age standardization and calculated age
standardized rates and standardized rate ratios (SRRs) for perinatal
factors for three time periods (pre-crisis, early crisis and established
crisis) for Greek and non-Greek women. Results: We found an increase in
low birth weight deliveries independent of maternal age and origin and
an increased stillbirth rate in Greek women younger than 25 in early (RR
= 1.42 95% CI: 1.12-1.80) and established crisis periods (RR = 1.36
95% CI: 1.07-1.72) compared with pre-crisis. Non-Greek women have also
been affected, with their advantage regarding birth outcomes becoming
less profound in the established crisis period (low birth weight:
established crisis SRR = 0.84 95% CI: 0.82-0.87, pre-crisis SRR = 0.79
95% CI: 0.76-0.81). Conclusions: The financial crisis has possibly
adversely affected perinatal factors in Greece. Our results highlight
the need of appropriate public health interventions and family support
policies, especially for younger people, unemployed and immigrants.
Συγγραφείς:
Zografaki, Irini
Papamichail, Dimitris
Panagiotopoulos, Takis
