Tendency of low birth weight in full-term newborns and its relationship with poverty and municipal development in Colombia. 2000-2014

The objective of the study was to describe the prevalence of term low birth weight and the relationship with sociogeographical inequalities between the municipalities and regions of Colombia. A longitudinal ecological study was carried out based on the vital statistics records of the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) of 1096 Colombian municipalities between 2000 and 2014. The study population was 7,514,492 live births at term, from deliveries to mothers between 15 and 45 years old. A Bayesian hierarchical model was adjusted for the estimation of smoothed relative risks and their credibility intervals (95%). The prevalence of term low birth weight in Colombia was 2.28 (2.26-2.29), with a tendency to decrease from 2.80 in 2000 to 1.79 in 2014. Territorial inequalities were observed, where poorer and less developed municipalities showed greater risks of term low birth weight, a trend that was maintained throughout the period analyzed. In conclusion, term low birth weight is decreasing in Colombia overall and in each of its regions, with a negative social gradient.