| Keywords |
Birth weight ; Ecological factor ; Socioeconomic factor |
| Abstract |
This paper explores a relationship between ecological and socioeconomic factors of individual and regionallevel on birth weight. Employing data from the vital statistics (Korea National Statistical Office, 2000) a cross-sectionalstudy was conducted. As for factors of the individual level, sex of newborn, gestational stage, parents’ age, parents'education, parents’ occupation, and birth order were included. As for factors of the regional level, the percentage ofhigh school graduates, local taxes paid per region, number of medical doctors per 10,000 people, and the percentageof water supply were included. The mean birth weight was 3,257g and low birth weight was 3.8%. Newborn sex,gestational stage, parent’s age, parent’s education, parent's occupation and birth order were all independently related tothe birth weight. Differences in birth weight by ecological and socioeconomic factors on regional level identified. Eco-logical and socioeconomic factors were associated with birth weight on individual and regional level. |