Routinely collected English birth data sets: comparisons and recommendations for reproductive epidemiology.
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In England there are four national routinely collected data sets on births: Office for National Statistics (ONS) births based on birth registrations; Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) deliveries (mothers' information); HES births (babies' information); and NHS Numbers for Babies (NN4B) based on ONS births plus gestational age and ethnicity information. This study describes and compares these data, with the aim of recommending the most appropriate data set(s) for use in epidemiological research and surveillance. METHODS: We assessed the completeness and quality of the data sets in relation to use in epidemiological research and surveillance and produced detailed descriptive statistics on common reproductive outcomes for each data set including temporal and spatial trends. RESULTS: ONS births is a high quality complete data set but lacks interpretive and clinical information. HES deliveries showed good agreement with ONS births but HES births showed larger amounts of missing or unavailable data. Both HES data sets had improved quality from 2003 onwards, but showed some local spatial variability. NN4B showed excellent agreement with ONS and HES deliveries for the years available (2006-2010). Annual number of births increased by 17.6% comparing 2002 with 2010 (ONS births). Approximately 6% of births were of low birth weight (2.6% term low birth weight) and 0.5% were stillbirths. CONCLUSIONS: Routinely collected data on births provide a valuable resource for researchers. ONS and NN4B offer the most complete and accurate record of births. Where more detailed clinical information is required, HES deliveries offers a high quality data set that captures the majority of English births.
Date Issued
2016-02-02
Date Acceptance
2015-12-31
Citation
Archives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal and Neonatal edition, 2016, 101, pp.F451-F457
ISSN
1359-2998
Publisher
BMJ
Start Page
F451
End Page
F457
Journal / Book Title
Archives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal and Neonatal edition
Volume
101
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2016, BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Routinely collected English birth data sets: comparisons and recommendations for reproductive epidemiology
Rebecca E Ghosh, Danielle C Ashworth, Anna L Hansell, Kevin Garwood, Paul Elliott, Mireille B Toledano
Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed fetalneonatal-2015-309540 Published Online First: 2 February 2016
Rebecca E Ghosh, Danielle C Ashworth, Anna L Hansell, Kevin Garwood, Paul Elliott, Mireille B Toledano
Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed fetalneonatal-2015-309540 Published Online First: 2 February 2016
Sponsor
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Identifier
PII: archdischild-2015-309540
Grant Number
MR/L01341X/1
Subjects
Data Collection
Epidemiology
Statistics
Publication Status
Published