title: The moderating influence of asthma diagnosis on biobehavioral health characteristics of women of reproductive age.
abstract: Promoting healthy behaviors to improve pregnancy outcomes requires an understanding of the factors influencing health behaviors among at-risk populations. We hypothesized that women with an asthma diagnosis would have poorer biobehavioral health risk factors and pregnancy outcomes compared to women without an asthma diagnosis. The Central Pennsylvania Women's Health Study (CePAWHS) included a population-based survey examining health status indicators, risk factors and outcomes, and detailed pregnancy histories among 2,002 women (ages 18-45). 213 asthmatics were identified. Compared with Non-asthmatic women (NA), Asthmatic (A) women reported lower rates of excellent health status (45% A vs. 65% NA, P < 0.001), were more likely to be overweight or obese (68% A vs. 50% NA, P < 0.001), and were more likely to have smoked cigarettes during their first pregnancy (25% A vs. 17% NA, P < 0.01). Psychological measures (psychosocial hassles, low self-esteem, depression) were reported more often in asthmatics than non-asthmatics. Also, asthmatics reported a higher incidence of gestational diabetes (10% A vs. 6% of NA, P = 0.05), preterm births (25% A vs. 16% NA, P < 0.01), and had a higher proportion of low birth weight infants (20% A vs. 13% NA, P = 0.03) compared with non-asthmatics. As predicted, asthmatics had poorer biobehavioral risk factors and outcomes compared to non-asthmatics. These findings illustrate the need to target asthmatic women of reproductive age, particularly in this largely rural setting, with interventions to reduce biobehavioral risk factors as part of a strategy to improve pregnancy outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA 17033, USA. rcarter@hmc.psu.edu
authors.forename: RyaLynn M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Symons Downs
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bascom
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Dyer
authors.forename: Carol S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Weisman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D008875:Middle Aged; D010414:Pennsylvania / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology; D011295:Prenatal Care; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult