TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2024//
TI  - Causal pathways between the acute experience of violence during pregnancy and fetal intrauterine growth restriction: a cohort study
JO  - Journal of women's health (Larchmont)
A1  - Blumrich, Lukas
A1  - Masiero Silva, Ludmilla
A1  - Dias Barreto, Vanessa
A1  - Rohde, Luis Augusto
A1  - Polanczyk, Guilherme Vanoni
A1  - Miguel, Eurípedes Constantino
A1  - Grisi, Sandra Josefina Ferraz Ellero
A1  - Fleitlich-Bilyk, Bacy
A1  - Ferraro, Alexandre Archanjo
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - INTRODUCTION: Violence during pregnancy (VDP) is a prevalent global issue with dire consequences for the mother and the developing fetus. These consequences include prematurity, low birthweight, and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), but its pathways remain elusive. This study investigated the causal pathways between VDP and IUGR using mediation analysis. <br><br>METHODS: A prospective population-based birth cohort was followed from the beginning of the third gestational trimester to the second year of life. IUGR was defined by the Kramer index, and information on VDP was collected using the WHO-Violence Against Women (WHO VAW) questionnaire. Cases were considered positive only when no other life episodes were reported. Ten different mediators were analyzed as possible pathways based on previous research. Path analysis was conducted to evaluate these relationships. <br><br>RESULTS: The path analysis model included 755 dyads and presented an adequate fit. Violence during pregnancy showed a direct effect (β = -0.195, p = 0.041) and a total effect (β = -0.276, p = 0.003) on IUGR. Violence was associated with gestational depression or anxiety, tobacco and alcohol consumption, changes in blood pressure, and the need for emergency care, but these did not constitute mediators of its effect on IUGR. The sum of the indirect effects, however, showed a significant association with IUGR (β = -0.081, p = 0.011). <br><br>CONCLUSION: The acute experience of violence during pregnancy was associated with IUGR, primarily via a direct pathway. An indirect effect was also present but not mediated through the variables analyzed in this study. The robust strength of these associations underscores the negative health consequences of violence against women for the succeeding generation.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1540-9996
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2023.0645
ID  - ref1
ER  -