Biomarkers May Explain Disparity in Preterm Birth : Serum CRP values were much higher for black than for white women, independent of maternal weight.

The same pattern was seen in soluble TNF-receptor concentrations, Dr. Menon reported.

A high degree of disparity between black and white women in the molar ratio of TNF-α and soluble TNF-receptor concentration “may be indicative of a TNF-α-mediated pathological process of preterm birth in blacks, but maybe not in whites,” he said at the meeting.