Juárez, S.; Alonso Ortíz, T.; Ramiro-Fariñas, D., Bolúmar, F. «The quality of vital statistics for studying perinatal health: the Spanish case«. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology  published online: 27 MAY 2012.

Mis compañeros Sol Juárez y Diego Ramiro, junto con Tomás Alonso y Francisco Bolumar, acaban de publicar un artículo en Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, una muy prestigiosa revista en su área. El tema es la calidad de las estadísticas vitales para el estudio de la salud perinatal en España, resultado de muchos años de trabajo en estos temas (Sol Juarez  obtuvo recientemente el Cum laude para su tesis doctoral, dirigida por J. Arango y D. Ramiro, dedicada a las diferencias de mortalidad perinatal entre inmigrantes y autóctonos).

El artículo que ahora publican concluye que la fiabilidad de los datos del INE se podría mejorar en gran medida si los hospitales, en el documento que los padres tienen que rellenar para registrar el nacimiento, incluyeran información sobre el peso al nacer y la edad gestacional de la madre. Aquí tienes una síntesis en cuatro párrafos:

Background:  Birthweight and gestational age are key indicators for perinatal health obtained through the birth certificate. Knowing the validity of birth certificate data is crucial when identifying needs and evaluating birth outcomes. In Spain, vital information is reported by parents and is not checked for consistency with any hospital document. Therefore, to perform a validation study and describe the variables associated with misreporting is essential to improve the quality of birth certificates.

Methods:  A database was created using birth information from hospital medical records that were individually linked with the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE) birth certificate files. Measures of reliability and validity were used to compare the data from the two sources. Logistic regression models were adjusted to model the odds of being misreported in birthweight and gestational age, controlling for relevant variables.

Results:  INE overestimated the prevalence of birthweight and gestational age. The degree of agreement between the two sources was good for most gestational age groups (Kappa = 0.74), very good for the very preterm (Kappa = 0.85) and very good also for all categories of birthweight (Kappa = 0.88). Misreporting was significantly higher among immigrants, unmarried mothers and girls. Being a preterm birth increased the odds of being declared with errors in gestational age; having low birthweight and missing information on gestational age were associated with misreporting birthweight.

Conclusions:  The reliability of INE information could be greatly improved if hospitals included birthweight and gestational age on the document provided to parents for registering the birth.

Para ampliar información:

• Tesis doctoral de Sol Juárez:  ‘What Matters in Birth Weight. The Epidemiologic Paradox in Immigrant in the Autonomous Community of Madrid’. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Advisors: Prof. Joaquín Arango and Prof. Diego Ramiro. [Summa Cum laude with European Mention]
• Página personal de Sol Juárez en el grupo de Dinámicas Demográficas del IEGD.
• Página personal de Diego Ramiro en el grupo de Dinámicas Demográficas del IEGD.