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Exploring the Link Between Parental Sociodemographic Characteristics and Multiple Births: Insights from National Birth Data in Japan, 1995–2020

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2024

Tasuku Okui Open the ORCID record for Tasuku Okui [Opens in a new window]  and
Naoki Nakashima
Tasuku Okui*
Affiliation:
Medical Information Center, Kyushu University Hospital, Fukuoka City, Japan
Naoki Nakashima
Affiliation:
Medical Information Center, Kyushu University Hospital, Fukuoka City, Japan
*
Corresponding author: Tasuku Okui; Email: task10300@gmail.com
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Abstract

This present study investigated the parental characteristics of multiple births using national birth data in Japan. This study included birth data from Vital Statistics: Occupational and Industrial Aspects every five fiscal years from 1995 to 2020. The multiple birth rates were defined as the number of live-birth deliveries with multiple fetuses (e.g., twins, triplets) per total live-birth deliveries. Parental ages, nationalities, occupations and household occupation (occupation of the top earner of the household) were considered as parental characteristics. The multiple birth rates were calculated based on parental characteristics for each year, and a log-binomial regression model was used to assess the association between parental characteristics and multiple births. The multiple birth rate for Japanese mothers consistently exceeded that for non-Japanese mothers over the years, and the rate increased progressively from manual workers to lower non-manual workers and then to upper non-manual workers for both maternal and paternal occupations. The regression results indicated that the risk ratio (RR) for multiple births among non-Japanese mothers was significantly lower than that among Japanese mothers. Moreover, concerning household occupation, the RRs of self-employed individuals, full-time employees at smaller companies, others, and the unemployed were significantly lower than those of full-time employees at larger companies. Furthermore, the RRs of lower non-manual and manual workers were significantly lower than those of upper non-manual workers in maternal and paternal occupations. The results suggested an association between multiple births and parental socioeconomic status in Japan.

Keywords

JapanMultiple birthVital statisticsOccupation
Type
Article
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Twin Research and Human Genetics , Volume 27 , Issue 4-5 , August 2024 , pp. 223 - 230
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of International Society for Twin Studies

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