Medicine (United States)
Volume 96, Issue 5, 2017

Differential effects of stress and African ancestry on preterm birth and related traits among US born and immigrant Black mothers (Article) (Open Access)

Tsai H.-J.* , Surkan P.J. , Yu S.M. , Caruso D. , Hong X. , Bartell T.R. , Wahl A.D. , Sampankanpanich C. , Reily A. , Zuckerman B.S. , Wang X.
  • a Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Taiwan, Department of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States
  • b Department of International Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
  • c Global Health and Education Projects Inc., Riverdale, MD, United States
  • d Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
  • e Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
  • f Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Chicago, IL, United States
  • g Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States
  • h Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
  • i Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
  • j Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States
  • k Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

Abstract

Preterm birth (PTB, <37 weeks of gestation) is influenced by a wide range of environmental, genetic and psychosocial factors, and their interactions. However, the individual and joint effects of genetic factors and psychosocial stress on PTB have remained largely unexplored among U.S. born versus immigrant mothers. We studied 1121 African American women from the Boston Birth Cohort enrolled from 1998 to 2008. Regression-based analyses were performed to examine the individual and joint effects of genetic ancestry and stress (including lifetime stress [LS] and stress during pregnancy [PS]) on PTB and related traits among U.S. born and immigrant mothers. Significant associations between LS and PTB and related traits were found in the total study population and in immigrant mothers, including gestational age, birthweight, PTB, and spontaneous PTB; but no association was found in U.S. born mothers. Furthermore, significant joint associations of LS (or PS) and African ancestral proportion (AAP) on PTB were found in immigrant mothers, but not in U.S. born mothers. Although, overall, immigrant women had lower rates of PTB compared to U.S. born women, our study is one of the first to identify a subset of immigrant women could be at significantly increased risk of PTB and related outcomes if they have high AAP and are under high LS or PS. In light of the growing number of immigrant mothers in the U.S., our findings may have important clinical and public health implications. © 2017 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

Author Keywords

Stress genetic ancestry Preterm birth

Index Keywords

genotype immigrant Alcohol Drinking drinking behavior Massachusetts pregnancy complication Pregnancy Complications human Premature Birth statistics and numerical data Stress, Psychological mental stress priority journal Substance-Related Disorders premature labor drug dependence ethnology African American United States Young Adult Humans migrant smoking Black person Emigrants and Immigrants female Socioeconomic Factors socioeconomics pregnancy Mothers Article obstetric delivery major clinical study mother adult heredity prematurity Birth Weight Delivery, Obstetric African Americans gestational age
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85013218780&doi=10.1097%2fMD.0000000000005899&partnerID=40&md5=7406759da8a9b6c384489e0c66356943
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000005899
ISSN: 00257974
Cited by: 2
Original Language: English