Paternal exposure to medical-related radiation associated with low birthweight infants: A large population-based, retrospective cohort study in rural China

Low birthweight (LBW) is closely associated with fetal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. We identified the risk factors of LBW and geographical differences in LBW incidence in 30 Chinese provinces in the present study. This study was a population-based, retrospective cohort study performed in 30 Chinese provinces. We used data from the free National Pre-pregnancy Checkups Project, which is a countrywide population-based retrospective cohort study. To identify regional differences in LBW incidence, we used the Qinling-Huaihe climate line to divide China into northern and southern sections and the Heihe-Tengchong economic line to divide it into eastern and western sections. Multivariate unconditional logistic regression analysis with SAS 9.4 was used for data analysis. P < .05 was considered statistically significant. LBW incidence was 4.54% in rural China. Southern China had a significantly higher incidence (4.65%) than northern China (4.28%). Our main risk factor for LBW is paternal exposure to radiation (odds ratio = 1.537), which has never been studied before. This study identifies multiple risk factors of couples giving birth to LBW babies including paternal risk factors.