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2019 (English)In: Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, ISSN 0001-6349, E-ISSN 1600-0412, Vol. 98, no 4, p. 470-478Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Introduction
Elevated neuroticism is associated with higher health care utilization in the general population. This study aimed to investigate the association between neuroticism and the use of publicly financed antenatal care in obstetric low‐risk women, taking predisposing and need factors for health care utilization into consideration.
Material and methods
Participants comprised 1052 obstetric low‐risk women (no chronic diseases or adverse pregnancy conditions) included in several obstetrics/gynecology studies in Uppsala, Sweden. Neuroticism was self‐rated on the Swedish universities Scales of Personality. Medical records of their first subsequent pregnancy were scanned for antenatal care use. Associations between antenatal care use and neuroticism were analyzed with logistic regression (binary outcomes) or negative binomial regression (count outcomes) comparing the 75th and 25th neuroticism percentiles. Depending on the Akaike information criterion the exposure was modeled as either linear or with restricted cubic splines. Analyses were adjusted for predisposing (sociodemographic and parity) and need factors (body mass index and psychiatric morbidity).
Results
After adjustment, women with higher neuroticism had more fetal ultrasounds (incidence rate ratio = 1.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02‐1.16), more emergency visits to an obstetrician/gynecologist (incidence rate ratio = 1.22, 95% CI 1.03‐1.45) and were more likely to visit a fear‐of‐childbirth clinic (odds ratio = 2.71, 95% CI 1.71‐4.29). Moreover, they more often consulted midwives in specialized antenatal care facilities (significant J‐shaped association).
Conclusions
Neuroticism was associated with higher utilization of publicly financed antenatal care in obstetric low‐risk women, even after adjusting for predisposing and need factors. Future studies should address the benefits of interventions as a complement to routine antenatal care programs to reduce subclinical anxiety.
Keywords
antenatal care, health care utilization, neuroticism, personality, pregnancy, prenatal care
National Category
Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine
Research subject
Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-364260 (URN)10.1111/aogs.13506 (DOI)000460954800008 ()30457176 (PubMedID)
Funder
Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2007-1955Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation, MMW2011.0115The Swedish Medical Association, SLS-250581Swedish Research Council, 521-2010-3293Swedish Research Council, K2008-54X-20642-01-3Swedish Society of MedicineStiftelsen Söderström - Königska sjukhemmetTore Nilsons Stiftelse för medicinsk forskning
2018-10-242018-10-242019-04-15Bibliographically approved