Journal article
Adolescent birth rates and the urban social environment in 363 Latin American cities
BMJ global health, v 7(10), pe009737
01 Oct 2022
PMID: 36253017
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Introduction Latin America has the second-highest adolescent birth rate (ABR) worldwide. Variation between urban and rural areas and evidence linking country development to ABR points towards upstream factors in the causal pathway. We investigated variation in ABR within and between cities, and whether different features of urban social environments are associated with ABR. Methods We included 363 cities in 9 Latin American countries. We collected data on social environment at country, city and subcity levels and birth rates among adolescents (ages 15-19). We investigated variation in ABR within and between countries and cities along with associations between social environment and ABR by fitting three-level negative binomial models (subcities nested within cities nested within countries). Results The median subcity ABR was 58.5 per 1000 women 15-19 (IQR 43.0-75.3). We found significant variability in subcity ABR between countries and cities (37% of variance between countries and 47% between cities within countries). Higher homicide rates and greater population growth in cities were associated with higher ABR (rate ratio (RR) 1.09; 95% CI 1.06 to 1.12 and RR 1.02; 95% CI 1.00 to 1.04, per SD, respectively), while better living conditions and educational attainment in subcities were associated with lower ABR after accounting for other social environment characteristics (RR 0.95; 95% CI 0.92 to 0.98 and 0.78; 95% CI 0.76 to 0.79, per SD, respectively). Conclusions The large heterogeneity of ABR found within countries and cities highlights the key role urban areas have in developing local policies. Holistic interventions targeting education inequalities and living conditions are likely important to reducing ABR in cities.
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Details
- Title
- Adolescent birth rates and the urban social environment in 363 Latin American cities
- Creators
- Ariela Braverman-Bronstein - Drexel UniversityDesiree Vidana-Perez - Natl Inst Publ Hlth, Ctr Survey Res & Evaluat, Cuernavaca, MexicoAna F. Ortigoza - Drexel UniversityLaura Baldovino-Chiquillo - Universidad de Los AndesFrancisco Diez-Canseco - Univ Peruana Cayetano Heredia, CRONICAS Ctr Excellence Chron Dis, Lima, PeruJulie Maslowsky - University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignBrisa N. Sanchez - Drexel UniversityTonatiuh Barrientos-Gutierrez - Natl Inst Publ Hlth, Ctr Populat Hlth Res, Cuernavaca, MexicoAna V Diez Roux - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- BMJ global health, v 7(10), pe009737
- Publisher
- Bmj Publishing Group
- Number of pages
- 9
- Grant note
- 205177/Z/16/Z / Wellcome Trust
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Urban Health Collaborative; Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Drexel University
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000870714500001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85141935171
- Other Identifier
- 991020099056104721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health