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Chronic Stress and C-Reactive Protein in Mothers During the First Postpartum Year

Christine M. Guardino · Christine Dunkel Schetter · Calvin J. Hobel · Robin Gaines Lanzi · Peter Schäfer · John M. Thorp +1 more

20 citations0/0 files storedPsychosomatic Medicine

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Health disparities and outcomes Stress Responses and Cortisol Adipokines, Inflammation, and Metabolic Diseases

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease. The current study tested associations between psychosocial stress and CRP in a large sample of women during the first postpartum year. METHODS: We analyzed data collected by the five-site Community Child Health Network study, which studied a predominately poor population. Participants (n = 1206 women; 54% African American, 23% white, 23% Hispanic/Latina) were recruited shortly after the birth of a child. Multiple linear regression analyses tested associations of psychosocial stress in several life domains (financial, neighborhood, family, coparenting, partner relationship, discrimination, and interpersonal violence) with log-transformed CRP concentrations at 6-month and 1-year postpartum. RESULTS: Forty-eight percent of participants showed evidence of elevated CRP (≥3 mg/L) at 6-month postpartum, and 46% had elevated CRP at 12-month postpartum. Chronic financial stress at 1-month postpartum predicted higher levels of CRP at 6- (b = .15, SE = .05, p = .006) and 12-month postpartum (b = .15, SE = .06, p = .007) adjusting for race/ethnicity, income, education, parity, health behaviors, and chronic health conditions, though associations became nonsignificant when adjusted for body mass index. CONCLUSIONS: In this low-income and ethnic/racially diverse sample of women, higher financial stress at 1-month postbirth predicted higher CRP. Study findings suggest that perceived financial stress stemming from socioeconomic disadvantage may be a particular deleterious form of stress affecting maternal biology during the year after the birth of a child.

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1983A Global Measure of Perceived Stress 1997Racial Differences in Physical and Mental Health 1997THE EFFECTS OF STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS ON DEPRESSION 2005Hostile Marital Interactions, Proinflammatory Cytokine Production, and Wound Healing 1998HITS: a short domestic violence screening tool for use in a family practice setting.2011Resilience in the Context of Chronic Stress and Health in Adults 2006Relationship of Early Life Stress and Psychological Functioning to Adult C-Reactive Protein in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study 2009Association of socioeconomic status with inflammation markers in black and white men and women in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study

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