Religiosity, spirituality, and tobacco use by pregnant women.
BACKGROUND
Tobacco use during pregnancy is associated with adverse child outcomes. There is evidence that religiosity/spirituality is associated with less tobacco use. This study aims to investigate the association further, including an assessment of overall religiousness and specific aspects of religiosity/spirituality.


METHODS
404 pregnant women receiving prenatal care in three southern obstetrics practices were surveyed regarding religiosity/ spirituality, other psychosocial characteristics, and recent tobacco.


RESULTS
Recent tobacco use was reported by 8% of study participants. In multivariable modeling, black race (OR = 0.32), social support (OR = 0.92), and overall religiousness (OR = 0.57) were significantly associated with lower odds of reporting recent tobacco use. Participation in organized religious activities and self-rated religiosity were the religious/spiritual measures most strongly associated with lower odds of tobacco use.


CONCLUSIONS
More religious/spiritual women appear to be less likely to use tobacco during pregnancy. Additional research is needed to investigate potential pathways for this association.
Mann
Joshua R
JR
University of South Carolina School of Medicine, USA. joshua.mann@palmettohealth.org
McKeown
Robert E
RE
Bacon
Janice
J
Vesselinov
Roumen
R
Bush
Freda
F
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000523:psychology; D012067:Religion; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology; D012944:Social Support; D029181:Spirituality; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology