title: Environmental health attitudes and behaviors: findings from a large pregnancy cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Environmental chemicals are widely found in food and personal care products and may have adverse effects on fetal development. Our aim was to examine women's attitudes about these chemicals and ask whether they try to limit their exposure during pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A multi-center cohort of women in the first trimester of pregnancy completed questionnaires including items on attitudes and behaviors related to environmental chemicals. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine: (1) whether sociodemographic variables predict environmental health attitudes and behaviors; and (2) whether women's attitudes about environmental chemicals affect their lifestyle behaviors, particularly diet and personal care product use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 894 subjects, approximately 60% strongly agreed that environmental chemicals are dangerous and 25% strongly felt they were impossible to avoid. Adjusting for covariates, educated women were more likely to believe that environmental chemicals are dangerous (OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.13, 2.66), and that belief, in turn, was associated with a number of healthy behaviors including choosing organic foods, foods in safe plastics, and chemical-free personal care products, and limiting fast food intake. Younger women were more likely to believe that environmental chemicals are impossible to avoid (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.00, 1.08).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women's attitudes about environmental chemicals may impact their choices during pregnancy. Overcoming a lack of concern about environmental chemicals, particularly among certain sociodemographic groups, is important for the success of clinical or public health prevention measures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, United States. Electronic address: Emily_barrett@urmc.rochester.edu.
authors.forename: Emily S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Seattle Children's Research Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98101, United States. Electronic address: Sheela.sathyanarayana@seattlechildrens.org.
authors.forename: Sheela
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sathyanarayana
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA 94014, United States. Electronic address: sarah.janssen@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Janssen
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology & Diabetes, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States. Electronic address: redmo001@umn.edu.
authors.forename: J Bruce
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Redmon
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55454, United States. Electronic address: nguy0082@umn.edu.
authors.forename: Ruby H N
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States. Electronic address: roni.kobrosly@mssm.edu.
authors.forename: Roni
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kobrosly
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States. Electronic address: shanna.swan@mssm.edu.
authors.forename: Shanna H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Swan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004782:Environmental Health; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy
keywords: Attitudes; Behaviors; Environmental chemicals; Pregnancy