Sociodemographic factors as a predictor for pregnancy-related anxiety

TL;DR

This study found that younger age, low education, and low income are linked to higher pregnancy-related anxiety in women.

Contribution

The study identifies specific sociodemographic predictors of pregnancy-related anxiety in a Tunisian population.

Findings

Younger age (<30 years) is strongly correlated with higher pregnancy-related anxiety.

Low educational level and low income are significant predictors of increased anxiety.

Most participants were married, housewives, and from urban areas with low income.

Abstract

Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to a wide variety of psychiatric symptoms, including anxiety related to pregnancy and childbirth.

The purpose of our study was to determine the sociodemographic characteristics of pregnant women and investigate their relationship with pregnancy-related anxiety.

The study was conducted from February to July 2023 among pregnant women in their 3rd-trimester consulting at the Gynecology-obstetrics department of the Hedi Chaker University Hospital of Sfax, Tunisia. Women with obstetric conditions favorable to vaginal delivery (cephalic presentation and eutrophic fetus) were interviewed using a questionnaire including their sociodemographic characteristics and the brief version of the pregnancy-related anxiety questionnaire PRAQ-R2.

A total of 350 women were included in our study. The mean age of the participants was 28 years [16-41 years] with the majority being married (95.7%). One hundred and eighty-eight women (53.7%) did not graduate from high school and 213 (60.9%) were housewives. Half of the participants (52.9%) lived in the city, and 38.9% reported low income. Almost half of them (46.28%) were multiparous.

The mean score of the PRAQ-R2 was 31.24 ± 7.53.

We found a positive correlation between the PRAQ-R2 scale score and age younger than 30 years (p<0.001), low educational level (p=0.006), and low income (p=0.031).

Our findings suggest that demographic factors seem to predict anxiety related to pregnancy and are worth examining in future studies for a better understanding of this symptom in pregnant women.

None Declared