Incidence of Macrosomia in Rural Areas — Henan Province, China, 2013–2017

Abstract

Introduction: Macrosomia has short-term and long-term adverse health effects and is thus an important public health concern. Recent decades have witnessed increasing incidence of macrosomia in many countries. Methods: The present study used a large population-based birth cohort study to depict incidence of macrosomia among live births in rural areas of Henan Province of China from 2013 to 2017. Results: Among the 1,262,916 births, 82,353 were cases of macrosomia. The overall incidence of all types of macrosomia, of macrosomia with birth weight <4,500 g, and of macrosomia with birth weight ≥4,500 g were 6.52%, 5.30%, and 1.22%, respectively. From 2013 to 2017, the incidence of macrosomia decreased by 31.3% from 7.96% in 2013 to 5.47% in 2017 (χ2trend=946.96, Ptrend <0.001). Male infants and infants ≥42 gestational weeks had significantly higher incidence of macrosomia than that of female infants and infants <42 gestational weeks (P<0.001). Conclusion: Gestational weight control through nutrition management and physical activities during pregnancy are needed to reduce incidence of macrosomia.