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Burton, S 
ORCID: 0000-0003-3823-3275, Dasgupta, T ORCID: 0000-0002-7874-9519, Barry, Z, Easter, A ORCID: 0000-0002-4462-6537, Sandall, J ORCID: 0000-0003-2000-743X and Rayment-Jones, H ORCID: 0000-0002-3027-8025
(2026)
The role of poverty-related social determinants in maternal and perinatal health inequities: a cross-sectional study using the eLIXIR born in South London, UK maternity-child data linkage.
International Journal for Equity in Health.
(Accepted)
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The role of poverty-related social determinants in maternal and perinatal health inequities a cross-sectional study using the eLIXIR born in South London, UK maternity-child data linkage.pdf - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Background
Evidence on how poverty and social determinants influence adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes in the UK is limited. While ethnicity and area-level deprivation are well described, fewer studies examine the cumulative impact of poverty-related factors such as low income, employment insecurity, housing, and access to social support.
Methods
We analysed 67,308 pregnancies from the eLIXIR cohort using linked NHS records. Social determinants were defined using the WHO framework as structural (ethnicity, migration status, area deprivation) and intermediary (housing, employment, financial hardship, social support, barriers to care). The primary outcome was a composite adverse perinatal outcome. Binary logistic regression models with random intercepts accounted for repeated pregnancies, and adjusted risk ratios (aRRs) were estimated controlling for key sociodemographic and clinical factors.
Results
Structural poverty-related social determinants of health were associated with increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes, including Black (aRR 1.50, 95% CI 1.42–1.59), Asian (aRR 1.49, 95% CI 1.39–1.59), and other minoritised ethnic backgrounds (aRR 1.50, 95% CI 1.42–1.59), residence in the most deprived areas (aRR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01–1.20), non-UK birth (aRR 1.20, 95% CI 1.15–1.25), and recent migration (aRR 1.32, 95% CI 1.14–1.53). Intermediary poverty-related social determinants of health were independently associated with increased risk beyond ethnicity and deprivation, including lack of social support (aRR 1.21, 95% CI 1.02–1.42), unemployment (aRR 1.16, 95% CI 1.10–1.23), financial hardship (aRR 1.17, 95% CI 1.01–1.35), living in social housing (aRR 1.16, 95% CI 1.09–1.24), transfer of care between hospitals (aRR 1.27, 95% CI 1.18–1.37), missed appointments (aRR 1.19, 95% CI 1.04–1.37), and unscheduled maternity care use (aRR 1.21, 95% CI 1.14–1.29). Women exposed to multiple overlapping poverty-related social determinants of health had a substantially higher likelihood of adverse perinatal outcomes (aRR 1.23, 95% CI 1.12–1.35).
Conclusions
Structural and intermediary social determinants related to poverty have a substantial and cumulative impact on maternal and perinatal outcomes, independent of individual clinical risk. Addressing these inequities requires integrated, cross-sector strategies that extend beyond healthcare to the wider social conditions influencing maternal and child health.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | 1117 Public Health and Health Services; 1608 Sociology; Public Health; 4203 Health services and systems; 4206 Public health; 4407 Policy and administration |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races R Medicine > RG Gynecology and obstetrics |
| Divisions: | Psychology (from Sep 2019) |
| Publisher: | Springer |
| Date of acceptance: | 14 February 2026 |
| Date of first compliant Open Access: | 18 March 2026 |
| Date Deposited: | 18 Mar 2026 11:56 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Mar 2026 11:56 |
| DOI or ID number: | 10.1186/s12939-026-02793-3 |
| URI: | https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28262 |
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