Socioeconomic disparities in the postnatal growth of preterm infants: a systematic review.

Summary

This systematic review examines whether parental socioeconomic status affects the postnatal growth of preterm infants, synthesising twelve heterogeneous studies, mostly of moderate to late preterm infants. Six studies found an adverse effect of low parental socioeconomic status on extrauterine growth, five found no effect and one a possibly beneficial effect. All studies carried a high risk of bias, and their health equity impact was largely negative. The authors call for theory-informed observational research to identify mechanisms and targets for intervention to reduce inequities.

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