Association of BMI and Census-Tract Defined Food Deserts Using Height and Weight Variables from the Georgia Birth Certificate Data for 2008-2009 Open Access

Abstract

An abstract of
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the
Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Public Health in Global Epidemiology
2012

Abstract

Association of BMI and Census-Tract Defined Food Deserts Using Height and Weight Variables
from the Georgia Birth Certificate Data for 2008-2009
Background: Pre-pregnancy obesity has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes and
risks for both pregnant women and their infants. The primary aim of this analysis was to study the
association of census-tract defined food deserts and pre-pregnancy BMI among women in
Georgia, while the secondary aim was to study patterns of the large percentage of missing pre-
pregnancy BMI data to assess the quality of the data. Methods: A cross-sectional secondary
analysis was conducted on the Georgia residents who had a live birth from 2008-2009 using
Georgia Birth Certificate data with newly documented height and weight variables compiled by
the Georgia Department of Public Health . Results: The results of this study show a significant
association of Overweight/Obese pre-pregnancy BMI and food desert exposure among Non-
Hispanic White women (OR=1.26, 95% CI [1.11, 1.24]) but no significant association among
Non-Hispanic Black (OR=0.97, 95% CI [0.92, 1.03]) or Hispanic women (OR=1.09, 95% CI
[0.90, 1.34]). Conclusions: Analysis of the association for missing BMI with food desert
exposure showed missing BMI is associated with food desert, and many other variables in
complex ways, limiting the usefulness of birth certificate BMI data as collected in the initial two
years of the 2003 revised birth certificate. With improved collection of height and weight on birth
certificates moving forward, vital records could become an additional tool for surveillance of
BMI in reproductive-aged women.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents


Chapter I:

Background 1

Chapter II: Manuscript

Introduction 10
Methods 12
Results 15
Discussion 20
Strengths and Weaknesses 24
Tables/Figures 26

Chapter III

Future Studies 34

References 36

Appendix 39

About this Master's Thesis

Rights statement

• Permission granted by the author to include this thesis or dissertation in this repository. All rights reserved by the author. Please contact the author for information regarding the reproduction and use of this thesis or dissertation.

School	Rollins School of Public Health
Department	Epidemiology
Subfield / Discipline	Global Epidemiology - MPH & MSPH
Degree	MPH
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Health Sciences, Public Health
Keyword	pre-pregnancy food desert BMI obesity
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Kramer, Michael R, Emory University
Partnering Agencies	Georgia state or local health department US (Federal) agency other than CDC

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