'The obesity paradox': a reconsideration of obesity and the risk of preterm birth.

Abraham TsurJ A MayoR J WongG M ShawD K StevensonJ B Gould

Published in: Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association (2017)

The obesity and preterm birth paradox is an example of what has been described as 'Simpson's Paradox'. Unmeasured confounding factors mediated by comorbidities may explain the observed protective effect of obesity upon conditioning on the presence or absence of comorbidities and thus resolve the paradox.

Keyphrases

preterm birth
insulin resistance
metabolic syndrome
weight loss
high fat diet induced
type diabetes
low birth weight
weight gain
gestational age
adipose tissue
skeletal muscle