Preconception stress, birth weight, and birth weight disparities among US women

• Published in: American journal of public health (1971) 2014-08, Vol.104 (8), p.e125-e132
• Main Authors: Strutz, Kelly L, Hogan, Vijaya K, Siega-Riz, Anna Maria, Suchindran, Chirayath M, Halpern, Carolyn Tucker, Hussey, Jon M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adults; Birth Outcomes; Birth Weight; Black or African American; Black People - statistics & numerical data; Child; Chronic illnesses; Confidence intervals; Cultural differences; Ethnicity; Female; Health Status Disparities; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic or Latino - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Interviews; Linear Models; Longitudinal Studies; Mexican Americans - statistics & numerical data; Minority & ethnic groups; Multiple births; Offspring; Online Research and Practice; Other Maternal and Infant Health; Pregnancy; Prenatal care; Public health; Race; Race/Ethnicity; Response rates; Stress; Stress, Psychological - complications; Studies; Teenagers; United States - epidemiology; White People - statistics & numerical data; Womens health; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0090-0036; 1541-0048; 1541-0048
• DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.301904

We examined the impact of preconception acute and chronic stressors on offspring birth weight and racial/ethnic birth weight disparities. We included birth weights for singleton live first (n = 3512) and second (n = 1901) births to White, Mexican-origin Latina, other-origin Latina, and Black women reported at wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (2007-2008; ages 24-32 years). We generated factor scores for preconception acute and chronic stressors from wave I (1994-1995; ages 11-19 years) or wave III (2001-2002; ages 18-26 years) for the same cohort of women. Linear regression models indicated that chronic stressors, but not acute stressors, were inversely associated with birth weight for both first and second births (b = -192; 95% confidence interval = -270, -113; and b = -180; 95% confidence interval = -315, -45, respectively), and partially explained the disparities in birth weight between the minority racial/ethnic groups and Whites. Preconception chronic stressors contribute to restricted birth weight and to racial/ethnic birth weight disparities.