Mental health and physical inactivity during pregnancy: a cross-sectional study nested in the BRISA cohort study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between mental health and physical inactivity in 1,447 pregnant women in the second trimester of pregnancy. Subjects answered the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Symptoms of depression and anxiety, and stress levels were assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Perceived Stress Scale, respectively. The rate of physical inactivity was low (39.8%). The prevalence rates of symptoms of severe depression and severe levels of anxiety were 28.8% and 16.9%, respectively. The average perceived stress score was 24.9. An association was found between physical inactivity and not living with a partner (OR = 1.28), having a manual occupation (OR = 0.71) and, unexpectedly, normal and low levels of anxiety (OR = 1.46 and OR = 1.44, respectively). No association was observed between physical inactivity and symptoms of severe depression and perceived stress. It is plausible to assume that the majority of physical activity practiced by these women was attributable to housework or occupation which may in turn be associated with high levels of anxiety.

The Effect of Group Counseling Based on Cognitive-Behavioral Approach on Pregnancy-Specific Stress and Anxiety

“…Studies have reported the prevalence of stress and anxiety during pregnancy as 6% to 78%; that is, 6% of the population is reportedly exposed to high levels of stress and 78% is exposed to low or moderate levels (7)(8)(9). Stress during pregnancy can be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as miscarriage, fetal weight loss, increased stress hormone levels, chronic hypertension, premature birth, infant mortality, changes in endocrine secretion, changes in hypothalamic-pituitary function, suppressed immune system, changes in the number of lymphocytes and reduced CD4/CD8 ratio, nausea, vomiting, preeclampsia, and some degree of mental disorder (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16).…”

Physical activity in pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes

“…Our study did not ask pregnant women about specific physical activities. However, few women in our sample reached very high activity levels, and most physical activity in our sample probably involved household chores 30 . Thus, based on our data it seems that physical activity during pregnancy is not harmful to the fetus.…”

Estilo de vida activo en la etapa final de embarazo y su influencia en la salud mental percibida: the PregnActive project

“…Centrándonos en la frecuencia de síntomas percibidos en la etapa final de embarazo, observamos como en todos los síntomas relacionados con el aspecto psicológico los porcentajes de embarazadas que perciben dichos síntomas son algo superiores en el grupo de embarazadas inactivas que en el grupo de embarazadas activas, aunque hay que recalcar la ausencia de diferencias significativas. Resultados similares encontramos en la literatura científica, donde se muestra una correlación positiva entre el cumplimiento de las recomendaciones de actividad física (Demissie et al, 2011;Loprinzi et al, 2012) o la participación en programas de ejercicio físico (Perales et al, 2015;Robledo-Colonia et al, 2012) y la prevalencia de síntomas depresivos, o entre el cumplimiento de las recomendaciones de actividad física y la percepción de ansiedad (Da Costa et al, 2003;Takahasi et al, 2013). En cuanto a la limitación provocada en la vida diaria por los síntomas psicológicos en la etapa final del embarazo, encontramos diferencias significativas en los síntomas de sentimientos depresivos y ansiedad.…”

“…De la misma manera la actividad física tiene un efecto positivo en modificación de la frecuencia y severidad de los síntomas relacionados con el embarazo (Foxcroft et al, 2011), como es el caso de los síntomas relacionados con el aspecto psicológico como la depresión (Loprinzi et al, 2012;Perales et al, 2015;Robledo-Colonia et al, 2012) o la ansiedad (Da Costa et al, 2003;Takahasi et al, 2013).…”