No abstract available.
Birth Certificates* ; Parturition*

The onprovement of civil registration reguires continuous study rather than periodic efforts. More and better statistics, however, are urgently required to formulate development programs and planning, Data obtainable from the civil registration are usually marred by errors of omission which are difficult to correct. This study aimed at finding out the problems occurring when a set of crude birth registration data in a rural area is used. Data Sources of this study are : 1) For birth registration : government birth registration records obtained from myun office and other government offices. 2) for the actual number of births : birth and child records from the Kang Wha Community Health Project. The study area is Sunwon Myun and Naega Myun in Kang Wha Gun, Gyunggido. The reference period for the accumulated data is one full year : Jan. 1st 1975 - Dec. 31st 1975. Major findings are as follows : If the number of registered birth is compared with the actual number of births which occurred in the target area, the former os far greater than the latter. The general assumption usually is , that the actual number of exceeds the registered number of birth in Korea. The observation from this specific study in this specific target area, shows the opposite trend. The number of births which actually occurred during the year of 1975 in the study area namely 256. The difference comes mainly from the fact that many cases of births from other areas were registered in the target area. In other words birth is not registered where it occurred but where the permanent residence address is. Among 550 births registered in the target area 66% did not occur in the target area. Only one third of all registered births were registered within the legal period for birth registration which is 2 weeks. 34% of the registered births actually occurred in 1974, but were registered in 1975. In 55% of the cases a difference was observed between the actual data of birth and the registered data of birth. From the 256 births which occurred in the target area, only 153 births (59%) were registered at the myun office and the remaining 130 births (41%) were not resistered there in the year of study. 6% of the 550 cases listed as registered have no separate registration sheets. Nevertheless, they definitely have been registered in the birth list at the myun office. 3% of the 550 cases are not recorded in this list but have a separate registration sheet at the myun offices. In conclusion, birth registration data have many errors and problems. Their usefulness as a source for vital and other statistics should be reconsidered. A series of sound methological studies will be necessary to establish their actual usefulness. A continuous and permanent compulsory system of birth recording is needed.
Birth Certificates ; Child ; Humans ; Korea* ; Parturition* ; Information Storage and Retrieval

PURPOSE: The primary objective of this study is to identify the changes in the birth weight of full term newborns in the Korean population over the past 5 years and to delineate their relating factors. METHODS: We used the dynamic statistics of the population from the Korea National Statistical Office which represents the current trend of social stratification. We analyzed birth records over a five-year period & studied the changes in the birth weight of full term newborns by year, gender, gestational age & Seoul or non-Seoul areas from 2002 to 2006. RESULTS: The mean birth weights of newborns in the 37~40 weeks range were 3,312 g and 3,210 g for male & female infants, respectively & decreased by 62 g and 49 g over the past five years. The birth weight in full term newborns decreased from 3,299 g to 3,243 g in total and there was no difference in the changes of birth weigh for each year, both sexes, each gestational age & capital or non-capital areas. CONCLUSION: The birth weight of full term newborns in Korea has decreased over the past five years, showing that there are no big differences between genders, gestational ages, and Seoul or non-Seoul areas. We need to study more prospectively the demographic variables which cause the trend if the mean birth weight continues to decrease.
Birth Certificates ; Birth Weight ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Male ; Parturition

PURPOSE: To determine the secular trend of the multiple birth rate in Korea from 1981 to 2017. METHODS: This study used birth certificate data covering the years 1981–2017 (20,948,901 births), provided by Statistics Korea. The impact of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) on multiple birth was analyzed by examining data prior to and after the introduction of ART and the national support program for infertile couples in South Korea. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to describe the secular trend in the multiple birth rate per 100 births. RESULTS: During this period, the multiple birth rate per 100 births increased by 277 percent from 1.031 to 3.891, the twin birth rate increased from 1.013 to 3.807 (275%), and the triplet birth rate increased from 0.018 to 0.084 (363%). The secular trend of the multiple birth rate remained in the 1.000 level during 1981–1991, but has been rising steadily since 1992. The average increment of the multiple birth rate was 3.9% annually from 1981 through 2017 (peaking at more than 10 percent during 2006–2007). Prior to the introduction of ART in Korea (1981–1984), the multiple birth rate was 1.007, but after its introduction, the multiple birth rate was 1.005 in 1985–1989 (OR, 0.998; 95% confidence interval, 0.982–1.014), 1.084 in 1990–1994 (1.007; 1.060–1.094), 1.891 in 2000–2004 (1.894; 1.866–1.922), 3.127 in 2010–2014 (3.173; 3.129–3.217), and 3.811 in 2015–2017 (3.893; 3.835–3.952). CONCLUSION: Over the past three decades, multiple births have risen dramatically in Korea, primarily due to the increasingly widespread use of fertility therapies, and the delayed age of childbearing. There is a need for more research to understand the factors contributing to multiple births, and the national birth registration systems ought to be reformed to monitor whether multiple births originated spontaneously or from assisted-conception.
Birth Certificates ; Birth Rate ; Family Characteristics ; Fertility ; Humans ; Korea ; Multiple Birth Offspring ; Odds Ratio ; Parturition ; Reproductive Techniques, Assisted ; Triplets ; Twins

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether paternal age is associated with the risk of preterm birth. METHODS: Data were obtained from the 2003 birth certificates registry of 214,413 singleton infants born to women aged 25~29 years in Korea (Korea National Statistical Office). Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated from multivariate logistic regression analyses to investigate the associations between paternal age and preterm delivery. RESULTS: The incidence of preterm birth showed a significant difference among the different paternal age groups (p<0.01). 'U-shaped' distribution of preterm birth risk was observed in terms of paternal age, with that of 30~34 years group being the lowest. Compared with 30~34 years group, the odds ratios for preterm birth were 1.14 for <24 years (p>0.05), 1.08 for age 25~29 years (p<0.01), 1.20 for age 35~39 years (p<0.01), and 1.50 for > or =40 years (p<0.01) groups. CONCLUSION: Paternal age is a risk factor for preterm birth and advanced paternal age increases the risk of preterm birth.
Birth Certificates* ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Odds Ratio ; Parturition* ; Paternal Age* ; Premature Birth* ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVE: Multiple birth implicates the important health and social problems such as preterm birth, low birth weight, high perinatal mortality, and increased medical cost. This study was performed to investigate the multiple birth rate in Korea using the birth certificate data. METHODS: Retrospective review and analysis of data from Korean birth certificate in 1996. RESULTS: Multiple birth rate was 1.4% of total births(683,043 cases). Mean birth weight was 3.29+/-0.47kg for singleton birth and 2.57+/-0.58kg for multiple birth. Mean gestational age was 39.56+/-1.32 weeks for singleton birth and 37.47+/-2.41 weeks for multiple birth. Rate of low birth weight (< 2.5kg) was 14 times higher for multiple birth compared with that of singleton birth, and rate of preterm birth(< 37 weeks) was 10 times higher. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between multiple birth and selected variables including maternal age, job and birth order. As the odds ratio(OR) was 2.47(95% CI: 2.34 - 2.59, p<0.001) for the second birth, and 5.31(95% CI: 4.99 - 5.65, p<0.001) for the third and over birth compared with the first birth, there was a significant correlation between multiple birth and birth order. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the birth certificate data in 1996, the incidence of twin and higher order multiple birth was 1.7%, and a significant correlation between multiple birth and birth order was revealed. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the etiology and prognosis of multiple birth and the developmental problems from birth to adolescence.
Adolescent ; Birth Certificates* ; Birth Order ; Birth Weight ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant, Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Maternal Age ; Multiple Birth Offspring* ; Parturition* ; Perinatal Mortality ; Pregnancy ; Premature Birth ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Social Problems ; Twins

Age estimation is important in the practice of forensic science to establish the identity of human remains, as well as with living persons. Particularly in Korea, age estimation in adults has been increase in the demand for incorrect birth records in order to be entitled to civil liability, social benefits, employment. The reduction of pulp cavity size as a result of secondary dentin deposit with increasing age could be used to estimate age. This regressive change can be analyzed using radiological techniques; thus, a variety of methods for dental age estimation based on this approach have been proposed. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the concurrence between the Drusini's method and the Jeon's method using the mandibular first molar on orthopantomographs (OPGs) in Korean adults. A total of 232 OPGs (91 females and 141 males) of Korean individuals with ages ranging from 20 to 69 years were analyzed using Drusini's method and Jeon's method. Our results revealed that the correlation of the two methods with age was statistically significant (r=0.501). Both Drusini's method and Jeon's method showed significant correlation with chronological age, and Jeon's method showed a greater correlation with chronological age (r=0.738) than Drusini's method (r=0.586). The mean absolute error was 7.99 years for Jeon's method and 9.79 years for Drusini's method. Our results demonstrate that Jeon's method using the mandibular first molar on OPGs is a practical and suitable method for age estimation in Korean adults.
Adult* ; Age Determination by Teeth ; Birth Certificates ; Dentin ; Dentin, Secondary ; Employment ; Female ; Forensic Sciences ; Humans ; Korea ; Methods* ; Molar* ; Radiography

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the reliability of the birth defects surveillance system in four counties with high prevalence of birth defects (Pingding, Xiyang, Taigu and Zezhou counties) in Shanxi province, China.

METHODSOne township was selected from each county as study site. The health workers chosen from township or village level were trained to visit families on the outcomes of each pregnancy who gave birth during year 2003 in the study site. The number of births and cases collected in the study were compared with that from the surveillance system. The number of births reported by surveillance system in four counties was also compared with the data from the local government. The criteria of evaluation were: 1) number of the missing report of births should < or = 5%, 2) the number of missing report on major external birth defects cases should < or = 10%. Researchers from the Peking University were responsible for examining the quality of surveillance in some terminal units of surveillance system.

RESULTSThe numbers of births reported in the study and from the surveillance system for four-township were 1043 and 997, respectively. 46 births were missing and the rate of misreporting for births was 4.4%. The numbers of birth defects cases reported in the study and from the surveillance system were 30 and 29, respectively. 1 case of birth defect as missed, and rate of misreporting for birth defects cases was 3.3%. The total number of births reported from surveillance was similar to that in the study in four counties, with a difference of 1.2%. Birth registry data was rather readable and special health workers responsible for surveillance work were present in all the terminal units of the surveillance system.

CONCLUSIONThe misreporting of births and cases existed in the birth defects surveillance system of the four counties in Shanxi province, but were lower than the allowable criteria. The surveillance units had better registration, reporting and administration of births and birth defect cases. Hence, the quality of the data from the surveillance system in these four counties was reliable.

Birth Certificates ; China ; epidemiology ; Congenital Abnormalities ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Population Surveillance ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Registries ; Reproducibility of Results

PURPOSE: 'Programming' describes the process that stimulus at a critical period of development has lifelong effects. The fact that low birth weight links to the risk of elevated blood pressures in adult life is well known. This study aims to examine whether this link is evident in the newborn by investigating the relationship of the intrauterine growth indices and neonatal blood pressure(BP). METHODS: We studied 127 neonates who were born at Ewha Womans' Hospital and their mothers enrolled our cohort study during pregnancy. Data on the mothers and details of the birth records were tracked and collected from medical charts. Neonatal BP was measured within 24 hours after birth. RESULTS: Neonatal SBP was positively correlated to intrauterine growth indices; birth weight(BW)(r= 0.4), head circumference(HC)(r=0.4), and birth height(r=0.3). However, an inverse relationship existed, between HC/BW ratio and neonatal SBP(r=-0.4). After adjusting for the baby's sex, maternal BP, and gestational age, neonatal SBP still associated with intrauterine growth indices. SBP was 7 mmHg higher in the highest BW group(> or =90 percentiles) compared to the lowest group(<10 percentiles). On the other hand, SBP was 17 mmHg lower in the highest HC/BW group(> or =90 percentiles) compared in the lowest group(<10 percentiles). CONCLUSION: This study could not find the evidence that intrauterine growth retardation affect on elevated neonatal BP. It suggests that the initiating events of BP programming may occur during postnatal growth period. To identify the critical starting period that intrauterine growth retardation leads to elevated BP, a study tracking BP changes from birth to childhood is required.
Adult ; Birth Certificates ; Blood Pressure* ; Cohort Studies ; Critical Period (Psychology) ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; Gestational Age ; Hand ; Head ; Humans ; Infant, Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Mothers ; Parturition ; Pregnancy

PURPOSE: To compare the relationship between intertwin birth weight discordance and maternal age at birth. METHODS: There were 51,726 pairs of twins born from 2007 to 2014 according to the birth certificate data of Korea Statistics (3,701,806 births). The data were excluded due to extra marital births, home births, and teenage births. Birth weight discordance rate (%) was calculated according to the following formula: (larger birth weight - smaller birth weight)/(birth weight of the larger twin) ×100. The odds ratio of intertwin birth weight discordance rate (≥25%) in maternal age at birth was calculated by logistic regression adjusted by the year of birth, gestational age, maternal education, infantile gender and paternal age. RESULTS: The mean birth weight of the heavier twin and that of the lighter twin were 2.536 kg and 2.254 kg, respectively. The mean birth weight difference of intertwins was 0.282 kg. The mean birth weight discordance rate by maternal age was 10.5 percent for maternal ages between 20 and 29 years, 11.0 percent for between 30 and 34 years, and 11.4 percent for 35 years and older. The frequency of birth weight discordance level of ≥25 percent increased as the maternal age increased. The rate of birth weight discordance (≥25%) was 7.7 percent for maternal ages between 20 and 29 years, 8.3 percent for between 30 and 34 years, and 8.7 percent in for 35 years and older. Compared with women from 20 to 29 years of age, the odds ratio of ≥25 percent discordance was 1.094 (95% confidence interval: 1.005~1.190) for 30 to 34 years, and 1.164 (1.401~1.301) for 35 years and older. The odds ratio of ≥25 percent discordance for the different-sexed twins was higher than that of the same-sexed twins in overall maternal age groups of 20 to 29 years, 30 to 34 years, and 35 years and older. CONCLUSION: The risk of birth weight discordance level of ≥25 percent was associated with the older maternal age. More research is required to understand the risk factors of intertwin birth weight discordance for older women.
Birth Certificates ; Birth Weight* ; Education ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Korea* ; Logistic Models ; Maternal Age* ; Odds Ratio ; Parturition* ; Paternal Age ; Risk Factors ; Twins