Association of Pre-Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (Type 1 & Type 2), Gestational Diabetes, and Pre-Eclampsia with Preterm Birth Among Omani Women
General Material Designation
[Thesis]
First Statement of Responsibility
Al Maqbali, Zainab Khalfan
Subsequent Statement of Responsibility
Sharts-Hopko, Nancy C
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
Villanova University
Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.
2019
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item
144
DISSERTATION (THESIS) NOTE
Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree
Ph.D.
Body granting the degree
Villanova University
Text preceding or following the note
2019
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
An estimated 15 million infants are born preterm every year; almost 1 million die due to preterm birth complications, now the second-leading cause of death across the globe for children younger than five years old. To understand what results in preterm birth, the purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to determine if and to what extent rates of pre-gestational diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes mellitus, and pre-eclampsia differ between Omani women who deliver preterm infants and Omani women who deliver term infants. Shonkoff's bio-developmental framework provided the theoretical foundation for the study. Secondary data were gathered from a simple random sample of 400 women who delivered preterm or term infants between 2015 and 2017 at Ibri hospital in Oman. After data extraction and cleaning, descriptive analyses and Chi-square tests of independence were conducted. Results indicated no differences in rates of pre-gestational diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes, or pre-eclampsia between mothers of preterm infants and term infants. However, results also indicated differences involving selected clinical and demographic variables, including education level, multiple pregnancies complications in current pregnancy, and maternal history of gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, and obesity. The findings reveal the significance of social determinants of health, including specific clinical and demographic factors, in predicting preterm birth for Omani women. Further study with more diverse populations is needed. The findings of the current study, by affirming the role of social determinants, can spur research to reduce the number of preterm births and the scourge of preterm infant death.