Prenatal Cigarette Smoking as a Mediator Between Racism and Depressive Symptoms: The Biosocial Impac
Friday, August 14, 2020
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Giurgescu C, Zhang L, Price
MA, et al.
Prenatal Cigarette
Smoking as a Mediator Between Racism and Depressive Symptoms: The Biosocial
Impact on Black Births Study.
[published online ahead of print, 2020 Jul 30]. Public Health Nurs.
2020;10.1111/phn.12780. doi:10.1111/phn.12780
Objective: This
study examined whether cigarette smoking mediated the association of racial
discrimination with depressive symptoms among pregnant Black women.
Design: Cross-sectional.
Sample: Two
hundred Black women at 8-29 weeks gestation.
Measurements: Women
completed questionnaires including the Experiences of Discrimination and the
Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scales, as well as
questions about sociodemographic characteristics and cigarette smoking.
Results: The
mean age of the sample was 26.9 ± 5.7 years and the mean gestational age at
data collection was 15.6 ± 5.7 weeks. Approximately 17% of women reported
prenatal cigarette smoking; 27% had prenatal CES-D scores ≥23, which have been
correlated with depression diagnoses; and 59% reported ever (lifetime)
experiencing discrimination in at least one situation (e.g., at work). Path
analysis results indicated that the standardized indirect effect of experiences
of racial discrimination on CES-D scores through prenatal smoking was
statistically significant (standardized indirect effect = 0.03; 95% CI: 0.001,
0.094; p = .042).
Conclusion: Cigarette
smoking during pregnancy partially mediated the association between lifetime
experiences of racial discrimination and prenatal depressive symptoms among
pregnant Black women. Smoking cessation programs should focus on identifying
and treating depressive symptoms among pregnant Black women.
|
|
Email to a Friend