Pregnancy-specific anxiety and gestational length: The mediating role of diurnal cortisol indices.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Preterm birth or shorter gestation is a common adverse pregnancy outcome. Pregnancy-specific anxiety is robustly associated with risk for shorter gestation. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) dysregulation, indicated by diurnal cortisol index variability [slope, area-under-the-curve (AUC) or cortisol awakening response (CAR)], could mediate associations between pregnancy-specific anxiety and shorter gestation. The purpose of this study was to explore whether diurnal cortisol index variability mediates associations between pregnancy-specific anxiety and gestational length.

Methods

A sample of 149 women from the Healthy Babies Before Birth study reported pregnancy-specific anxiety in early pregnancy. Saliva samples were taken at three times during pregnancy, for t

SUBMITTER: Ross KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10952551 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature