Showing papers by "Laura Fenster published in 1995"

Psychologic Stress in the Workplace and Spontaneous Abortion

Abstract: The relation of work-related psychologic stress to spontaneous abortion was examined in a prospective study of 3,953 pregnant, employed members of a prepaid health plan in California, recruited between 1990 and 1991. Information on occupation, psychologic stress-related factors at work, social support at work, physical exertion at work, life events, pregnancy worries, and potential confounders was obtained by a telephone interview. Psychologic job stress and social support at work were assessed using an abbreviated version of the instrument developed by Karasek and colleagues (Los Angeles: University of Southern California, 1986). Results from the multivariate model indicated that, overall, stressful work was not associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion. However, interactions were observed between stressful work and maternal age over 32 years (p = 0.04), cigarette smoking (p = 0.02), and primigravidity (p = 0.06). Relative to the odds ratio for stressful work in young, nonsmoking, multigravid women without a history of two or more spontaneous abortions, the odds ratios for spontaneous abortion given stressful work were higher by 2.45 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-5.81) for older women, 2.96 (95% CI 1.16-7.52) for smokers, and 2.27 (95% CI 0.97-5.27) for primigravid women.

The Association of Moderate Maternal and Paternal Alcohol Consumption with Birthweight and Gestational Age

Abstract: Heavy maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy has been associated with fetal growth retardation, but whether more moderate consumption also is associated remains a controversial issue. We examined moderate consumption in 1233 women with singleton livebirths, by calculating a weighted average of weekly consumption in the first 20 weeks from questions that asked about alcohol consumption before pregnancy, as well as any changes during the first half of pregnancy. The adjusted odds ratio for ("moderate") consumption of three or more drinks per week for low birthweight was 2.6 [95% confidence limits (CL) = 1.2, 5.7], and that for intrauterine growth retardation was 2.3 (95% CL = 1.2, 4.6). Examining the joint effect of smoking with alcohol consumption revealed associations that differed by outcome; we found a synergistic effect for low birthweight, but not for intrauterine growth retardation. Moderate alcohol consumers had an average birthweight decrement of 143 gm, which varied by smoking. There was little association of alcohol consumption with preterm delivery (< 37 weeks). Paternal alcohol consumption was not associated with any of the fetal growth measures after adjustment for other variables.