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Women of Turkish origin exhibit higher stress levels during pregnancy: Results from a prospective cohort study

  • Health inequalities exist between people with and without a migration background in many societies. These inequalities seem to be perpetuated to the offspring generation born in the host country. This phenomenon is also observed among people of Turkish origin in Germany. Stress psychological and stress biological processes during pregnancy may play an important role in how maternal conditions may be transmitted to the child. We present here findings on the role of Turkish migration background for psychological stress experiences and stress biology during pregnancy. 140 pregnant women (81 non migrant German, 33 of Turkish origin, 26 of other origin) participated in a prospective cohort study that was carried out in Bielefeld and Berlin and that encompassed two study visits during pregnancy at first and second trimester pregnancy (Spallek et al., 2020). At both study visits, we derived concentrations of maternal inflammatory markers (CRP, IL-6) and diurnal cortisol profiles, and participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)Health inequalities exist between people with and without a migration background in many societies. These inequalities seem to be perpetuated to the offspring generation born in the host country. This phenomenon is also observed among people of Turkish origin in Germany. Stress psychological and stress biological processes during pregnancy may play an important role in how maternal conditions may be transmitted to the child. We present here findings on the role of Turkish migration background for psychological stress experiences and stress biology during pregnancy. 140 pregnant women (81 non migrant German, 33 of Turkish origin, 26 of other origin) participated in a prospective cohort study that was carried out in Bielefeld and Berlin and that encompassed two study visits during pregnancy at first and second trimester pregnancy (Spallek et al., 2020). At both study visits, we derived concentrations of maternal inflammatory markers (CRP, IL-6) and diurnal cortisol profiles, and participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD). Multilevel models showed that Turkish-origin women had increased inflammatory levels (Spallek et al., 2021), a blunted cortisol awakening response and flatter diurnal cortisol slope (Entringer et al., 2022), and they exhibited higher levels of perceived stress and depressive symptoms during pregnancy compared to non-migrant women after adjustment for socioeconomic factors. Women of Turkish origin show increased stress levels on the psychological and biological level during pregnancy. The potential role of this elevated stress for the offspring’s health is subject to future analyses.show moreshow less

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Author: Laura Scholaske, Jacob SpallekORCiDGND, Sonja Entringer
URL:https://www.uni-giessen.de/de/fbz/fb11/institute/med_psych/bewegtezeiten/programm/programm-und-abstract-band_dgmp-dgms2023.pdf/view
Title of the source (English):Bewegte Zeiten: Lebenswelten im Wandel - Gemeinsamer Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Medizinische Psychologie e.V. & der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Medizinische Soziologie e.V.
Document Type:Conference publication peer-reviewed
Language:German
Year of publication:2023
First Page:173
Faculty/Chair:Fakultät 4 Humanwissenschaften (bis 2023 Soziale Arbeit, Gesundheit und Musik) / FG Gesundheitswissenschaften
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