A pproximately 20% of childbearing women present a high risk of depression. Antenatal depression (AD) is the strongest predictor of postnatal depression with important consequences for the outcome of pregnancy. 1,2 Immigration effects on mental health may be particularly strong during pregnancy, a period of increased vulnerability to depression. Studies show that immigrant women present a high prevalence of depressive symptoms during pregnancy, the early postpartum period and as mothers of young children. 1,3-7 Immigration impacts cultural identity, social support and socioeconomic status and this, in turn, is likely to have effects on immigrant mental health. 8-10 European studies of immigrant mental health have shown that risk factors for depression, such as poor health and discrimination, have particularly strong effects under conditions of poverty and lack of social support. 11 Moreover, time since immigration and ethnicity may influence individual social and socioeconomic characteristics, having an impact on mental health. 12 In addition, pregnancy may be a period of vulnerability to depression. 13 We argue that the vulnerability to depression could be particularly exacerbated by lack of money and support, especially in immigrant women. While ethnic disparities in depressive symptomatology (DS) during pregnancy have been described abroad, 3,14,15 length of stay and region of origin are rarely assessed in a combined fashion in studies of immigrant health in Canada. Studies of pregnant women lack comparisons with Canadian-born women, and their sample size is often insufficient to disentangle the effect of region of origin and length of stay on mental health. 4,16 Our aims are threefold: to estimate the prevalence of antenatal DS in Canada's immigrants with respect to length of stay and region of origin, and to compare this to the prevalence in Canadian-born women; to examine the role of lack of money and social support in depression in this population; and to evaluate the interplay of length of stay and region of origin as determinants of antenatal DS. METHODS Data were obtained from a prospective cohort study of pregnant women in Montreal conducted in 1999-2004 in four large maternity hospitals. Recruitment procedures have been described in detail previously. 17 Women were recruited at routine ultrasound examinations, antenatal blood sampling or antenatal care clinics. Approval for this study was obtained by the ethics committees of all four hospitals. Eligibility criteria included age ≥18 years at the
There are considerable social and material inequalities in access to home care. In view of the poor coverage of the public system for home and personal care, these inequalities may widen in the near future. New public policy initiatives are needed to provide affordable formal family-support services.
Abstract. This study attempts to identify Plant Functional Types (PFTs) within the scrub vegetation of the stabilized sand dunes of the Doñana National Park (southwestern Spain) and to explore possible links with ecosystem function. Two 10‐km long transects were sampled along a gradient of water table depth from elevated and dry dunes to a border area close to the salt marsh.
A matrix of cover values for 20 woody species × 58 plots and a matrix of 24 morphological and physiological traits × 20 species were analysed by means of DCA and TWINSPAN to identify the main vegetation types and PFTs. In order to know the predominant plant traits, the matrix of 20 species × 58 plots was multiplied by the 24 traits × 20 species matrix. The resulting 24 traits × 58 plots matrix was analysed by means of DCA.
The main vegetation types coincide with the previous descriptions of the Park with Juniperus phoenicea woodland and xerophytic species dominating the top of the dunes and hygrophytic species with isolated Quercus suber trees in the depressions. Previous classifications of Mediterranean woody plants resulted in two main PFTs. The present analysis confirmed these two groups: maquis versus garrigue, but added four new groups. The analysis of the traits × plots matrix revealed that the main trend of variation is related to the water table gradient, while the traits related to the species of mature plant communities had little weight in the analysis because these communities are restricted to isolated patches.
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