 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
|
| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Indu Ahluwalia, MPH, PHD1, Karin Ann Mack, PhD2, Deborah Holtzman, PhD3, and Ali Mokdad, PhD1. (1) Division of Adult and Community Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy NE, MS K66, Atlanta, GA 30341-3717, 770-488-5764, Iahluwalia@cdc.gov, (2) NCCDPHP/DACH/BSB, Centers for Disease Control, 4770 Buford Hwy NE K66, Atlanta, GA 30341, (3) Public Health Practice Program Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy NE, Mailstop K-56, Atlanta, GA 30341
In the U.S., about 41 million adults experience mental or physical impairment during a year. Community-based research shows that 10%-23% of reproductive age women experience depressive symptoms. Associations between pregnancy status and self-reported physical and mental health impairment were examined using BRFSS data from 1998, 2000, and 2001 (n=156,428). Prevalence estimates, 95% confidence intervals (CI) and logistic regression analyses were performed with adjustment for potential confounders. Overall, 4.6% of the women were pregnant and they were more likely than non-pregnant women to report their health to be excellent or good, and less likely to experience mental distress and get enough rest for two weeks or more in the past month. Adjusted analyses showed that as compared to non-pregnant women, pregnant women were less likely to assess their health status as fair or poor (odds ratio [OR]=0.73, 95% CI 0.60,0.89); experience frequent mental distress (OR=0.59, 95%CI 0.50,0.69), but were more likely to experience frequent physical impairment (OR=1.32, 95% CI 1.11,1.56) and activity limitation (OR=1.53, 95% CI 1.22, 1.93). Cigarette smoking was lower among pregnant women (12.25%, 95% CI 10.96-13.54) than non-pregnant women (25.10%; 95% CI 24.71-25.49), but those experiencing mental and physical distress were significantly more likely to smoke. Data suggest that pregnant women were less likely to experience frequent mental distress, depression, or stress/anxiety, but reported more frequent physical and activity limitations. Behaviors such as smoking may be influenced by mental and physical health. Health care providers should be aware of these transitional states in formulating treatment plans.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Mental Health, Women's Health
Related Web page: www.cdc.gov/brfss
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.