Maternal cocaine use and low birth weight newborns: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Aim/design. Many epidemiological studies published on the association between maternal cocaine/crack use and birth weight have either lacked precision or failed to control for major confounding, predominantly by tobacco smoking. Meta-analysis enables a single summary measure of effect to be calculated by combining data from any number of individual studies, thus enhancing statistical power. We undertook a number of meta-analyses using only studies that had adjusted for tobacco smoking to estimate more precisely the effect of maternal cocaine use on birth weight. Findings. A meta-analysis of five studies presenting data for 'any' prenatal cocaine exposure, adjusted for tobacco smoking but una..