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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Barbara A. Laraia, PhD, MPH, RD, Department of Nutrition, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Carolina Population Center, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8120, (919)966-5969, blaraia@email.unc.edu, Nancy Dole, PhD, Carolina Population Center, The University of North Carolina, CB# 8120, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, and Anna Maria Siega-Riz, PhD, MS, RD, Nutrition, Epidemiology, and Carolina Population Center, The University of North Carolina, CB #8120, Chapel Hill, NC 27599.

Objective: High pregravid BMI is associated with excessive gestational weight gain and risk for pregnancy complications. Women with higher BMI are hypothesized to have higher levels of stress. High level of stress during pregnancy may influence maternal health and fetal growth. We examined the extent to which psychosocial factors are associated with pregravid BMI status. Methods: The analysis included 1241 study participants in an ongoing pregnancy cohort who completed psychosocial interviews. Psychosocial factors of perceived stress, trait anxiety, depression symptoms, chance locus of control (LOC), and powerful others LOC were hypothesized to have a positive association, while personal dispositions of internal LOC, self-esteem and mastery were hypothesized to have a negative association, with higher pregravid weight status. Psychosocial measures were compared across BMI categories with a t-test. The association between each psychosocial factors and pregravid obesity (BMI>30) status was estimated using logistical regression, controlling for several potential confounders. Results: Prepregnancy BMI status was: 14% underweight, 52% normal weight, 11% overweight and 23% obese. In bivariate analysis, women categorized as obese had significantly different psychosocial measures than women of normal weight in the anticipated direction except for powerful others LOC. In adjusted logistic regression models, perceived stress, trait anxiety, depression symptoms and powerful others LOC were associated with increased odds of pregravid obesity, whereas internal LOC, mastery and self-esteem were associated with decreased odds of pregravid obesity. Conclusion: Psychosocial factors are associated with pregravid obesity and may be an added risk factor for poor weight gain, maternal complications and birth outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to describe common measures of psychosocial factors used in research,
• Participants will understand the relationship between psychosocial factors and pregravid obesity.

Keywords: Obesity, Stress

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation