TY - JOUR
T1 - Association between maternal age and the likelihood of a cesarean section
T2 - A population-based multivariate logistic regression analysis
AU - Lin, Herng Ching
AU - Sheen, Tzong Chyi
AU - Tang, Chao Hsiun
AU - Kao, Senyeong
PY - 2004/12
Y1 - 2004/12
N2 - Background. A majority of studies examining the relationship between advancing maternal age and the likelihood of cesarean section (CS) use data from regional samples or from a limited number of medical institutions. This study uses population-based data from Taiwan to explore the relationship between maternal age and the likelihood of a CS. Methods. The National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) on registries of medical facilities and board-certified physicians and monthly claim summaries for inpatients were used. In total, 502 524 singleton deliveries were included in the study. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed with the presence of CS as the dependent variable and maternal age (<20, 20-29, 30-34 and >34 years) as the independent variable. The study controlled for maternal indications, institution characteristics, maternal requests and attending physician characteristics. Results. CS rates for the age groups <20, 20-29, 30-34 and >34 years were 17.7, 27.4, 37.4 and 47.5%, respectively. The regression analyses consistently showed that the likelihood of a CS significantly increased with advancing maternal age within each category of complication after adjusting for medical institution characteristics and characteristics of the attending physician. Conclusions. This study found that, after adjusting for maternal indications, and healthcare institution and physician characteristics, there was a significant relationship between advancing maternal age and an increased likelihood of a CS. This finding, together with the high CS rate of 32.1% in Taiwan, one of the highest reported in the world today, highlights an imperative need to devise interventions to reduce the frequency of CSs.
AB - Background. A majority of studies examining the relationship between advancing maternal age and the likelihood of cesarean section (CS) use data from regional samples or from a limited number of medical institutions. This study uses population-based data from Taiwan to explore the relationship between maternal age and the likelihood of a CS. Methods. The National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) on registries of medical facilities and board-certified physicians and monthly claim summaries for inpatients were used. In total, 502 524 singleton deliveries were included in the study. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed with the presence of CS as the dependent variable and maternal age (<20, 20-29, 30-34 and >34 years) as the independent variable. The study controlled for maternal indications, institution characteristics, maternal requests and attending physician characteristics. Results. CS rates for the age groups <20, 20-29, 30-34 and >34 years were 17.7, 27.4, 37.4 and 47.5%, respectively. The regression analyses consistently showed that the likelihood of a CS significantly increased with advancing maternal age within each category of complication after adjusting for medical institution characteristics and characteristics of the attending physician. Conclusions. This study found that, after adjusting for maternal indications, and healthcare institution and physician characteristics, there was a significant relationship between advancing maternal age and an increased likelihood of a CS. This finding, together with the high CS rate of 32.1% in Taiwan, one of the highest reported in the world today, highlights an imperative need to devise interventions to reduce the frequency of CSs.
KW - Cesarean section
KW - Cesarean section rate
KW - Maternal age
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U2 - 10.1111/j.0001-6349.2004.00506.x
DO - 10.1111/j.0001-6349.2004.00506.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 15548152
AN - SCOPUS:10344249910
SN - 0001-6349
VL - 83
SP - 1178
EP - 1183
JO - Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica
JF - Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica
IS - 12
ER -