Cardiovascular Responsivity, Physical and Psychosocial Job Stress, and the Risk of Preterm Delivery
Abstract
We recruited a cohort of over 600 active-duty military women attending the prenatal clinic at Wilbur Hall Medical Center and followed them until delivery to assess associations between stress, cardiovascular responsivity and risk of preterm delivery. In spite of universal access to prenatal care, rates of preterm delivery were more than twice as high among black women (14.0%) as among white women (6.4%), both overall and within each military rank. The Relative Risk (RR) of preterm delivery for black women, adjusted for relevant covariates, was 2.0 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.9, 4.4). Of the job stressors we studied, including long hours, only a High Workload and Low Job Satisfaction had elevated relative risks for preterm delivery. The adjusted RRs for Workload and Job Satisfaction were 1.9, CI 0.8, 4. 1 and 1.7, (CI 0.8, 3.9) respectively. However, neither job stressors nor perceived stress accounted for the black/white disparity in rates of prematurity. Over 400 participants agreed to be tested for cardiovascular reactivity. Mean levels of blood pressure reactivity were higher among black women, and only the subgroup of black women showed adjusted gestational age differences associated with stress reactivity. Although, reactivity was not associated with spontaneous preterm delivery, there were too few cases to analyze separately by race.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA407704
Entities
People
- Maureen C. Hatch
Organizations
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai