Review Article
The Gomeroi Gaaynggal Cohort: A Preliminary Study of the Maternal Determinants of Pregnancy Outcomes in Indigenous Australian Women
| Kirsty G. Pringle1-3, Loretta Weatherall2-4, Celine Corbisier de Meaultsart1-3, Lyniece Keogh2-4, Stella Sands2-4, C. Caroline Blackwell1, Sharron Hall1,2, Donald Clausen5, Kenneth Apen6, Keith Hollebone4,6, T. Claire Roberts7, Sandra Eades8, Alex Brown9, D. Pathik Wadhwa10, E. Clare Collins11, Roger Smith2,3, R. Eugenie Lumbers1-3, Kym M. Rae2-4,12* | |
| 1School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia | |
| 2Mothers and Babies Research Centre, Hunter Medical Research Institute, New Lambton, Newcastle, Australia | |
| 3Priority Research Centre for Reproductive Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia | |
| 4Gomeroi gaaynggal Centre, Faculty of Health, 2/1 Hinkler St, University of Newcastle, Tamworth, Australia | |
| 5Pathology North, New England, Johnston St, Tamworth, Australia | |
| 6Tamworth Rural Referral Hospital, Johnston St, Tamworth, Australia | |
| 7Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia | |
| 8Baker IDI, 75 Commercial Rd, Melbourne, Australia | |
| 9South Australia Health and Medical Research Institute, North Terrace, Adelaide, Australia | |
| 10UC Irvine Development, Health and Disease Research Program, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, USA | |
| 11Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia | |
| 12Department of Rural Health, Faculty of Health, University of Newcastle, Tamworth, Australia | |
| Corresponding Author : | Dr. Kym M. Rae Gomeroi gaaynggal Centre, Faculty of Health 2/1 Hinkler St, University of Newcastle, Tamworth, Australia Tel: +61267652698 E-mail: Kym.Rae@newcastle.edu.au |
| Received: November 09, 2015; Accepted: December 09, 2015; Published: December 16, 2015 | |
| Citation: Pringle KG, Weatherall L, de Meaultsart CC, Keogh L, et al. (2015) The Gomeroi Gaaynggal Cohort: A Preliminary Study of the Maternal Determinants of Pregnancy Outcomes in Indigenous Australian Women. J Preg Child Health 2:211. doi:10.4172/2376-127X.1000211 | |
| Copyright: © 2015 Pringle KG, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. | |
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Abstract
The life expectancy of Indigenous Australians is amongst the lowest of any population group within developed nations and chronic diseases collectively account for over 80% of the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. The Gomeroi gaaynggal cohort is a prospective, longitudinal maternal-infant cohort established to examine the origins of chronic disease in Indigenous Australians. This study aimed to determine the major antenatal factors associated with adverse birth outcomes (preterm delivery, low birth weight) and other pregnancyrelated complications (gestational diabetes and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy) in Indigenous Australian women. Pregnant women who identified as Indigenous Australians or pregnant non-Indigenous women giving birth to an Indigenous infant were eligible to participate in the cohort (n=227). Physical measurements and biological sample collection (including blood and urine) were undertaken up to 3 times in pregnancy. Median weight and BMI of the cohort was 80.7 kg and 30.3 kg/m2 at enrolment (median 23 weeks gestation). 43% reported smoking cigarettes during pregnancy. Of the 158 women in whom pregnancy outcomes were known, 43% had an uncomplicated pregnancy, 13.9% delivered preterm, 14.6% delivered a small-for-gestational age infant, 10% developed a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, and 6.3% developed gestational diabetes. In addition, many women showed evidence of underlying renal dysfunction (proteinuria or albuminuria). The ratio of male to female offspring in this cohort was 1.38. Eightyseven percent of preterm infants were male, as were 83.3% of babies from women with gestational hypertension. This skewed sex distribution was far higher than for those who had a healthy pregnancy outcome (59%). This study demonstrates that key factors including maternal obesity, exposure to cigarette smoke and underlying renal impairment, influence pregnancy outcome. Preliminary findings from this study also suggest that more male babies are born early and from complicated pregnancies in this Indigenous cohort.
