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In an attempt to better understand breast cancer, researchers are constantly evaluating the laundry list of known risk factors, which include smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, lack of exercise, family history, [...]

We already depend on the Internet for entertainment, shopping and communication, but the information superhighway is also an excellent tool to keep up with the latest health news and research. [...]

AbstractBackground:Preterm birth results in considerable morbidity and mortality among children in the USA. The risk of preterm birth is not fully explained by individual maternal risk factors, although there is some evidence that adverse environmental factors, such as living in a high crime neighborhood, may contribute to an increased risk of preterm birth.Methods:We used multilevel logistic regression to investigate the association between census block group violent crime rate and the probability of preterm birth, controlling for potential individual and neighborhood level confounders. We restricted our analysis to births within the City of Atlanta, GA in the years 1998–2006.Results:Preterm births comprised 13.1% of 50,665 births in Atlanta. Violent crime rates at the block group level showed significant interaction with maternal age. The odds of preterm birth among women in the highest two violent crime quartiles were increased compared with women in the lowest violent crime quartile among women 30 years and older; there was no association between living in the highest block group crime quartiles and preterm birth compared with living in the lowest crime quartile among women younger than 30 years.Conclusions:There is evidence of an association between living in a high crime area and an increased risk of preterm birth for women over 30 years of age, when considering violent crime rate at the block group scale.