Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing scrutiny over a 2011 research paper he co-authored that examined the link between interethnic mating and preterm birth rates among Arab American mothers. The paper, published in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, concluded that interethnic mating may be associated with an increased risk of adverse birth outcomes.
El-Sayed, who has frequently identified as a physician, authored the paper during his time at Columbia University. Titled "Interethnic mating and risk for preterm birth among Arab American mothers," the research suggested that Arab mothers had systematically better birth outcomes than white mothers, citing a 2008 study. However, the paper noted that this gap diminished when adjusting for maternal and socioeconomic factors.
The 2011 study further indicated that Arab women having children with white men were linked to higher odds of preterm birth (before 37 weeks) and late preterm birth (between 34 and 36 weeks) compared to having children with Arab fathers. While the study found no statistically significant difference in very preterm births (before 32 weeks) based on paternal ethnicity when the mother was white, this finding was not elaborated upon significantly in the paper.
Critics have labeled the paper's findings as "racist and eugenics"-driven, questioning the motivation behind the research. The paper also suggested that Arab ethnic mothers engaged in interethnic mating were less likely to be married, had higher maternal ages, and were more likely to smoke than those who mated with Arab fathers. El-Sayed also posited that individuals in interracial or interethnic relationships might experience increased stress, potentially affecting birth outcomes.
The research utilized data from over 617,000 women in Michigan, a state with a significant Arab American population, examining birth records from 2000 to 2005. El-Sayed, whose parents are Egyptian, is married to Sarah Jukaku, who is of Indian heritage. They married in 2006.
The paper also touched upon religious perspectives, noting that under Sharia law, Muslim men can marry Christian or Jewish women, but Muslim women are generally restricted to marrying Muslim men.
El-Sayed, who is campaigning to become the first Muslim senator in the U.S., suggested in the paper that future research could explore the effects of interethnic mating on other adverse birth outcomes, such as neonatal mortality and birth defects. He previously pursued a medical residency but withdrew his application to focus on public health.