BACKGROUND: While literacy is a key factor in health across the life course, the association of literacy and teenage childbearing has not been assessed in the US. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study using standardized reading data from 12,339 girls in the seventh grade in the 1996-97 or 1997-98 academic years of the Philadelphia Public School System linked to birth records from the city of Philadelphia (1996-2002). RESULTS: Less than average reading skill was independently associated with two and a half times the risk of teen childbearing than average reading skill (aHR 2.51, 95% CI: 1.67-3.77). Above average reading skill was associated with less risk (aHR 0.27, 95% CI 0.17-0.44). A significant interaction (p<.05) between reading skill and race/ethnicity indicated that Hispanic and African American girls had greater risk of teen-childbearing by literacy. CONCLUSIONS: Literacy strongly predicts risk of teenage childbearing independent of confounders. The effects of literacy were stronger among girls with Hispanic or African American race/ethnicity.
BACKGROUND: While literacy is a key factor in health across the life course, the association of literacy and teenage childbearing has not been assessed in the US. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study using standardized reading data from 12,339 girls in the seventh grade in the 1996-97 or 1997-98 academic years of the Philadelphia Public School System linked to birth records from the city of Philadelphia (1996-2002). RESULTS: Less than average reading skill was independently associated with two and a half times the risk of teen childbearing than average reading skill (aHR 2.51, 95% CI: 1.67-3.77). Above average reading skill was associated with less risk (aHR 0.27, 95% CI 0.17-0.44). A significant interaction (p<.05) between reading skill and race/ethnicity indicated that Hispanic and African American girls had greater risk of teen-childbearing by literacy. CONCLUSIONS: Literacy strongly predicts risk of teenage childbearing independent of confounders. The effects of literacy were stronger among girls with Hispanic or African American race/ethnicity.
Authors: M M Adams; H G Wilson; D L Casto; C J Berg; J M McDermott; J A Gaudino; B J McCarthy Journal: Am J Epidemiol Date: 1997-02-15 Impact factor: 4.897