Preconception Wellness: The Effects of Social Indicators and Immigrant Status

Background: We hypothesized that disparities between immigrants and non-immigrants generalized to lifestyle behaviors, contingent upon pregnancy status.

Methods: Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2006 datasets), we examined health factors of pregnant and non-pregnant, 12-44 year old women (n=8095). Logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted prevalence odds ratios (aPOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for lifestyle factors.

Results: Prevalence odds ratios were adjusted for social indicators including race, age, marital status, education, medical conditions, household smoking, home ownership, poverty, and acculturation. When comparing US-born and foreign-born women that were pregnant, US-born women were only significantly different regarding any drug use (aPOR 5.24, 95% CI 1.63, 16.76). When comparing US-born and foreign-born women that were not pregnant, US-born women were significantly more likely to drink any alcohol (aPOR 1.87, 95% CI 1.41, 2.49), smoke (aPOR 1.94, 95% CI1.29, 2.92), use any drugs (aPOR 3.68, 95% CI 2.43, 5.58), exercise at moderate or vigorous levels (aPOR 1.66, 95% CI 1.25, 2.22), and use birth control (aPOR 1.69, 95% CI 1.16, 2.46).

Conclusion: The finding that US-born pregnant women are more likely to use any drugs than foreign-born pregnant women is alarming. Additionally, regarding non-pregnant women, US-born women were more likely to use alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, but also more likely to exercise and use birth control, even after adjusting for social indicators.