Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #101317

Louise H. Flick, DrPH, School of Nursing, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, Box 1066, Alumni Hall, Edwardsville, IL 62026-1066, 618-650-3283, lflick@siue.edu, Cynthia A. Loveland Cook, PhD, School of Social Service, Saint Louis University, 3550 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63103, Sharon Homan, PhD, School of Public Health, St. Louis University, 3663 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108, Maryellen McSweeney, PhD, School of Nursing, St. Louis University, 3525 Caroline Mall, St. Louis, MO 63104, Claudia Campbell, PhD, Department of Health Systems Management, Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1440 Canal Street, Suite 2430, New Orleans, LA 70112, Lisa Parnell, MSW, Social Service, St. Luke's Hospital, 232 S Woods Mill Rd, St. Louis, MO 631017, and Mary Elizabeth Gallagher, PhD, VOICES Program, St. Louis University, Wuller Hall, 3711 West Pine Mall, St. Louis, MO 63108.

Female hormones appear to protect against psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia but the relationship is not well understood. This cross-sectional study compares the prevalence of 17 psychiatric disorders of pregnancy in each pregnancy trimester. A representative sample of 745 pregnant women, recruited from urban and rural WIC nutrition sites were given a standardized diagnostic interview (DIS-IV). The sample was proportional for black and white race at each site. Twenty percent were interviewed in the first, 43% in the second and 37% in the third trimester. Logistic regression, controlling for age, race and urban/rural residence, revealed that subjects in the first trimester were more likely to meet criteria for a current diagnosis than those in the third (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.10-2.74). Most of this effect was due to having an anxiety disorder (OR 2.58, CI 1.23-5.43) or an affective disorder (OR 1.80, CI 1.04-3.13). Within the anxiety disorders, phobias showed the greatest effect. Subjects in the first trimester reported 3.7 times more current phobia (CI 1.41-9.75) than third trimester subjects. Social phobia accounted for this effect and was 6.5 times more likely in the first trimester (CI 1.28-32.68). While these effects could be due to self-selection, the pattern of results suggests symptoms of anxiety and affective disorders may be more prevalent in early pregnancy than in the third trimester. These findings are significant for mental health screening in pregnancy and for understanding pregnancy's influence on symptoms.

Learning Objectives:

• Evaluate the prior evidence that pregnancy influences psychiatric symptoms.
• Assess the evidence from the current study that prevalence of certain disorders are higher in early pregnancy than in the third trimester.
• Discuss the alternative explanations for these findings.

Keywords: Mental Illness, Pregnancy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation