Prolonged exposure to a war environment and its effects on the blood pressure of pregnant women

Abstract

The present research examined the effects of living in an area which had been a target of terrorist activities for a long period, as well as the effects of war, on blood pressure of pregnant women. For this purpose, the blood pressures of 5804 Israeli pregnant women, who gave birth between July 1973 and June 1975 and who had lived in either high, medium or low military stress environments were compared. Blood pressures that were measured immediately before delivery were taken from the delivery record of the pregnant women in the hospital. Results showed that the women in the high stress environment displayed significantly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure, both during the relatively calm period and the period of the Yom Kippur War, than women who lived in the low stress environment. Women who lived in the medium stress area were in between these two groups. War increased the blood pressure in all three environments, but the increase in blood pressure from the calm period to the war period was greater in the high and medium stress environments than in the low stress environment. Results further showed that the younger women displayed greater increase in the systolic blood pressure than the older women. This finding was attributed to the fact that the husbands of the younger women serve in the front lines to a greater extent, which probably induces a higher level of anxiety.

Physiological reactivity to psychological stress in human pregnancy: Current knowledge and future directions

“…While not found in all studies [100], evidence also supports a link between self-reported stressful life events and likelihood of preeclampsia [8]. Similar results were found using objectively determined stress; among 5,804 pregnant Isreali women living in a war environment, those classified as living in higher risk areas had higher blood pressure than women living in lower risk areas [101]. Null findings are also reported; among 3,679 nulliparous women in the Netherlands, neither work stress, anxiety, depression, nor pregnancy-related anxiety were associated with preeclampsia or gestational hypertension [102].…”

Psychoneuroimmunology in pregnancy: Immune pathways linking stress with maternal health, adverse birth outcomes, and fetal development

“…Stress may contribute to the latter via promotion of preeclampsia (Arck, 2001; Hetzel et al, 1961; Kanayama et al, 1997; Khatun et al, 1999; Kurki et al, 2000; Landsbergis and Hatch, 1996; Rofe and Goldberg, 1983), a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy which is a leading cause of medically indicated preterm delivery. In animal models, pregnant rats exposed to cold stimulation of the paws for two weeks develop symptoms consistent with preeclampsia (Kanayama et al, 1997; Khatun et al, 1999), supporting a role for excessive stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system in the development of the disorder (Arck, 2001).…”

Critical Life Changes

“…There have been descriptions of defined changes in relation to a specific diagnosis. One example is the incidence of pregnancy hypertension during war conditions, which has been shown to increase [23], Another is the increase in hypertension after migration [24]; a third cardiovascular deaths after be reavement [25]. and a fourth depression in relation to unemployment [26], Another kind of association that has been described is the one between life changes in general and dur ing illness.…”