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On the association between late parental age and the risk of stillbirth: evidence from northern Italy

Alessandro Rosina, Università Cattolica, Milan
Giulia Rivellini, Università Cattolica, Milan

The continuous increase of age at childbearing in many industrialized countries raises the question on the implications of late parental age on the risk of negative outcome. In this study, we consider a specific late fertility implication: the risk of stillbirth. Specifically, we estimate the extent of the increase in the incidence of stillbirth with parental age (particularly after 40 years old), controlling for both biological and social confounders. While various studies have considered the impact of maternal age, those which considered the effect of paternal age are rare. Our dataset is based on birth records from vital statistics registered in northern Italy. For the analysis we use a binomial logistic model accounting for correlation within municipalities using the GEE approach (Diggle, Liang, Zeger 1994). Our results provide empirical evidence that not only maternal age, but also paternal age has a significant impact on the risk of stillbirth.

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Presented in Poster Session 4