Korean J Pediatr.  2012 Aug;55(8):280-285. 10.3345/kjp.2012.55.8.280.

Birth statistics of high birth weight infants (macrosomia) in Korea

• Kang BH
• Moon JY
• Chung SH
• Choi YS
• Lee KS
• Chang JY
• Bae CW

• KMID: 2284307
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3345/kjp.2012.55.8.280

Abstract

PURPOSE
The authors analyzed the trend from the birth-related statistics of high birth weight infants (HBWIs) over 50 years in Korea from 1960 to 2010.
METHODS
We used 2 data sources, namely, the hospital units (1960's to 1990's) and Statistics Korea (1993 to 2010). The analyses include the incidence of HBWIs, birth weight distribution, sex ratio, and the relationship of HBWI to maternal age.
RESULTS
The hospital unit data indicated the incidence of HBWI as 3 to 7% in the 1960's and 1970's and 4 to 7% in the 1980's and 1990's. Data from Statistics Korea indicated the percentages of HBWIs among total live births decreased over the years: 6.7% (1993), 6.3% (1995), 5.1% (2000), 4.5% (2000), and 3.5% (2010). In HBWIs, the birth weight rages and percentage of incidence in infants' were 4.0 to 4.4 kg (90.3%), 4.5 to 4.9 kg (8.8%), 5.0 to 5.4 kg (0.8%), 5.5 to 5.9 kg (0.1%), and >6.0 kg (0.0%) in 2000 but were 92.2%, 7.2%, 0.6%, 0.0%, and 0.0% in 2009. The male to female ratio of HBWIs was 1.89 in 1993 and 1.84 in 2010. In 2010, the mother's age distribution correlated with low (4.9%), normal (91.0%), and high birth weights (3.6%): an increase in mother's age resulted in an increase in the frequency of low birth weight infants (LBWIs) and HBWIs.
CONCLUSION
The incidence of HBWIs for the past 50 years has been dropping in Korea. The older the mother, the higher was the risk of a HBWI and LBWI. We hope that these findings would be utilized as basic data that will aid those managing HBWIs.

Keyword

Birth weight; Newborn infant; Fetal macrosomia; Incidence; Epidemiology

MeSH Terms

Age Distribution
Birth Weight
Information Storage and Retrieval
Female
Fetal Macrosomia
Hospital Units
Humans
Incidence
Infant
Infant, Low Birth Weight
Infant, Newborn
Korea
Live Birth
Male
Mothers
Parturition
Rage
Sex Distribution