Community context, acculturation and low-birth-weight risk among Arab Americans: Evidence from the Arab-American birth-outcomes study

Background: An assessment was made as to whether maternal residence in areas with high Arab-American concentrations, hence with expected low acculturation for this ethnic group, was associated with low-birthweight (<2500 g) (LBW) risk among Arab-ethnicity mothers (AEM). Methods: Data on all births In Michigan from 2000 to 2005 were collected. Blvariate x² tests and multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess the relation between residence In areas with a high Arab-American concentration and risk for LBW among AEM. As a control, analyses were replicated among nonArab white mothers. Results: Both residence In Dearborn (OR=0.85, 95% Cl 0.75 to 0.97), the city with the highest Arab-American concentration In the USA, and residence in 48126 (OR=0.81, 95% Cl 0.71 to 0.93), the zip code with the highest concentration of AEM In Dearborn, were associated with a lower risk for LBW compared with residence In the rest of Michigan In multivariable models adjusted for potential confounders. Neither residence in Dearborn nor residence In 48126 was associated with LBW risk among non-Arab white mothers. Conclusions Residence In areas with high Arab-American concentrations was associated with a lower LBW risk among AEM. Future work should directly measure acculturation, a plausible mediator of this observed relation.