Document Detail


Maternal psychosocial adversity during pregnancy is associated with length of gestation and offspring size at birth: evidence from a population-based cohort study.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20410245     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVE: To study in a large-scale cohort with prospective data the associations of psychosocial adversities during pregnancy with length of gestation and offspring size at birth. METHODS: We defined a priori two types of psychosocial adversity during pregnancy: life stress (perceived burdens in major areas of life) and emotional symptoms (e.g. anxiety). Measures of offspring size at birth, including body weight, body length, abdominal and head circumference, were obtained from a national medical birth registry. We included in the analyses gestational age and offspring size at birth controlled for length of gestation; the latter was calculated by gestational-age-specific z scores (ZS) reported in 10(-3). We conducted multiple regression analyses adjusted for potential confounders to estimate the association between exposures and birth outcomes (n = 78017 pregnancies). RESULTS: Life stress (per score increase by 1; range, 0-18) was associated with shorter length of gestation (days; B, -0.14; 95% confidence interval (CI), -0.19, -0.10), increased offspring body weight (ZS; B, 9.14; 95% CI, 4.99, 13.28), body length (ZS; B, 6.58; 95% CI, 2.39, 10.77), abdominal circumference (ZS; B, 9.96; 95% CI, 5.77, 14.16), and head circumference (ZS; B, 6.13; 95% CI, 1.95, 10.30). Emotional symptoms were associated with shorter length of gestation (days; B, -0.04; 95% CI, -0.07, -0.004) and decreased body length (ZS; B, -4.44; 95% CI, -7.57, -1.32) only. CONCLUSIONS: Life stress and emotional symptoms both predicted a shorter length of gestation, while only life stress predicted an increased offspring size at birth controlled for length of gestation; yet, the associations were rather small. The fetoplacental-maternal unit may regulate fetal growth according to the type of psychosocial adversity and even increase fetal growth in response to maternal stress in major areas of life. This potentially reflects a basic principle of intrauterine human development in response to stress.
Authors:
Marion Tegethoff; Naomi Greene; Jørn Olsen; Andrea H Meyer; Gunther Meinlschmidt
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't     Date:  2010-04-21
Journal Detail:
Title:  Psychosomatic medicine     Volume:  72     ISSN:  1534-7796     ISO Abbreviation:  Psychosom Med     Publication Date:  2010 May 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-05-11     Completed Date:  2010-07-15     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0376505     Medline TA:  Psychosom Med     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  419-26     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Anthropometry
Birth Weight / physiology*
Body Mass Index
Body Size
Cohort Studies
Denmark / epidemiology
Female
Fetal Development / physiology
Gestational Age*
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Interleukin-1beta
Life Change Events*
Male
Maternal Age
Maternal Exposure / statistics & numerical data*
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications / epidemiology*,  psychology
Pregnancy Outcome / epidemiology
Risk Factors
Social Class
Stress, Psychological / epidemiology*,  psychology
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Interleukin-1beta

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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