| Previous research suggests that maternal psycho-social-behavioral factors (such as psychological distress and negative life events) and elevated corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) are associated with an increased risk of preterm birth. However, studies to date have not examined the role of psycho-social-behavioral variables as predictors of elevated CRH. The goal of this study was to use multiple measures to obtain a more comprehensive picture of chronic maternal stress in an effort to more adequately evaluate the relationships between CRH and psycho-social-behavioral variables.;One hundred twenty women, less than 20 weeks of gestation, were recruited, consented, and enrolled into the study. One hundred women had blood samples collected at 14-20 weeks of pregnancy and assayed for CRH. Eighty-five participants completed and returned self-administered questionnaires at 14-20 weeks gestation. Measures included perceived stress, depression, anxiety, social support, domestic violence/abuse, optimism levels, coping styles, and work, sleep, and nutritional patterns.;The findings indicate significant weak associations between CRH (low vs. high) and sleep hours/night, hours of standing/day, reports of adequacy of income to meet needs, and the coping styles of "religion," "disengagement," and "humor" (p < .05). Logistic regression modeling identified three predictor variables (adequacy of income to meet needs, and coping styles of "religion" and "disengagement") accounting for 42.2% of the variance in CRH level.;These findings are the first to examine psycho-social-behavioral variables as predictors of CRH level in pregnancy. Women who report that their family incomes do not meet their needs had almost three times the odds for high CRH levels. Women who used religion and disengagement coping styles also had higher odds (14 and 7, respectively) for high CRH levels. Psycho-social-behavioral factors, including those identified as weak predictors of elevated CRH in this study, warrant additional consideration preparatory to establishing interventions to prevent preterm birth. |
