Study Finds Female Newborns 2 Times More Likely to Miss Vitamin K as Refusals Rise
Updated
Updated · Medscape · Jun 19
Study Finds Female Newborns 2 Times More Likely to Miss Vitamin K as Refusals Rise
1 articles · Updated · Medscape · Jun 19
Summary
93,163 newborns studied across three University of Pennsylvania hospitals showed female infants had higher odds of missing vitamin K prophylaxis than males, with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.03.
777 newborns did not receive vitamin K and 9,400 did not receive hepatitis B vaccine during the hospital stay, indicating refusals extended beyond a single preventive treatment.
Among infants whose parents declined vitamin K, 83% also did not receive hepatitis B vaccine, linking the two refusals closely in the same families.
From 2018 to 2025, vitamin K refusal rates rose annually by 1.37 per 1,000 female births and 0.75 per 1,000 male births, while HBV refusal also increased for both sexes.
The JAMA Network Open research letter was limited to one health system and did not track later health outcomes, but authors said the pattern points to a need for strategies to reduce preventable risk.