Introduction:

Low birth weight requires a focus on its determinants to increase the strategic scope of the program.

Objective:

To identify the biological and social determinants of health associated with low birth weight.

Methods:

An observational, analytical case-control study was carried out in newborns with low birth weight belonging to the municipality of Las Tunas, Las Tunas province, in the period from January to December 2021. The universe of study was represented by 100% of those born weighing less than 2500 grams, which constituted the cases (121). The sample was obtained from normal weights through simple random sampling, taking into account a ratio of 2 controls for each case in the chosen study period, (204) controls. The determinants maternal age, personal pathological history (PPA), unfavorable obstetric history, number of deliveries, high blood pressure (HBP), anemia, vaginal infection, urinary infection, occupation, schooling and marital status were analyzed. Specific measures such as the Odds ratio (OR) and attributable risk (AR). The data were processed and represented in tables.

Results:

The extreme ages of life, HBP, APP, insufficient maternal weight gain at the end of pregnancy (OR 6.6, 4.7,4.3, 4.2), as well as the social determinants of schooling, occupation and marital status (OR 4.8, 5.3, 5.0) presented a strong causal association with low birth weight.

Conclusions:

Low birth weight in the Las Tunas Municipality was associated with biological variables: age, APP, unfavorable obstetric history, insufficient weight gain at the end of pregnancy, hypertension, urinary infection, anemia, and social factors such as occupation, education and marital status.

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