Introduction:

Low birth weight is a health concern at the primary level of care.

Objective:

To identify the biological determinants of health associated with low birth weight in the period from January 2015 to December 2017, corresponding to the health area of Frank País García Community Teaching Polyclinic.

Methods:

A retrospective, observational and analytical study of cases and controls was carried out. The study universe was represented by 100% of underweight children who made up the cases and controls of 1040 normal weight newborns, from which a sample was obtained through simple random sampling, taking into account a ratio of two controls for each case in the chosen study period. The sample was made up of 71 children, 57 as cases (low birth weight newborns) and 114 as controls (normal weight newborns). Specific measures were used, such as odds ratio (OR), for a chi-square of 3.84. Data were processed and represented in tables.

Results:

Individual disease history, unfavorable obstetric history, number of deliveries, weight gain at the end of pregnancy, urinary tract infection, and vaginal infection had significant causal association.

Conclusions:

Biological variables were associated with the presence of low birth weight, a reason why managing them with an adequate risk approach will have a positive impact on the mitigation of this health problem.

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