The physical‐mental health interface in the preconception period : analysis of 131,182 women planning pregnancy in the UK

Tosh, C. and Kavanagh, K. and Flynn, A. C. and Stephenson, J. and White, S. L. and Catalao, R. and Wilson, C. A. (2023) The physical‐mental health interface in the preconception period : analysis of 131,182 women planning pregnancy in the UK. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 130 (9). pp. 1028-1037. ISSN 1470-0328 (https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.17447)

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Abstract

Objective: The physical and mental health of women prior to conception can have a significant impact on pregnancy and child outcomes. Given the rising burden of non‐communicable diseases, the aim was to explore the relation between mental health, physical health and health behaviour in women planning a pregnancy. Methods: Cross‐sectional analysis of responses from 131 182 women to a preconception health digital education tool, providing data on physical and mental health and health behaviour. Logistic regression was used to explore associations between mental health and physical health variables. Results: Physical health conditions were reported by 13.1% and mental health conditions by 17.8%. There was evidence for an association between self‐reported physical and mental health conditions (odds ratio [OR] 2.22, 95% CI 2.14–2.3). Those with a mental health condition were less likely to engage with healthy behaviour at preconception such as folate supplementation (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.86–0.92) and consumption of the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.74–0.79). They were more likely to be physically inactive (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.11–1.18), smoke tobacco (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.66–1.78) and use illicit substances (OR 2.4, 95% CI 2.25–2.55). Conclusions: Greater recognition of mental and physical comorbidities is needed and closer integration of physical and mental healthcare in the preconception period, which could support people to optimise their health during this time and improve long‐term outcomes.

ORCID iDs

Tosh, C., Kavanagh, K. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2679-5409, Flynn, A. C., Stephenson, J., White, S. L., Catalao, R. and Wilson, C. A.;
  • Item type:Article
    ID code:88437
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    August 2023
    Published
    8 March 2023
    Published Online
    24 February 2023
    Accepted
    Notes:© 2023 The Authors. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
    Subjects:UNSPECIFIED
    Department:Strategic Research Themes > Health and Wellbeing
    Faculty of Science > Mathematics and Statistics
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:14 Mar 2024 08:44
    Last modified:11 Nov 2024 13:51
    Related URLs:
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/88437
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