Description
Study was conducted to determine if there was evidence for a relationship between 24 h rest-activity and saliva cortisol rhythms with maternal-fetal health indicators. Primiparous women wore a wrist actigraphy device for a week to record activity during gestational weeks 22 (G22; n = 50) and 32 (G32; n = 46) and postpartum week one (PPW1; n=39). Participants also collected saliva samples every 4 hr over a 24 hr period during G22 (n=22), G32 (n=20) and 24-48 hr postnatal (n= 20), and cortisol concentrations were measured with ELISA. Circadian rhythmicity was assessed using autocorrelation coefficient (r24) and cosinor analysis. Blood glucose levels, body mass index (BMI), gestational disease data, and gestational age of infant at birth were abstracted from medical charts. Mean r24, mesor (mean) and amplitude of activity decreased between G22 and G32, and G32 and PPW1 (p < .05). Cortisol rhythms were not different between G22 and G32, however area under the curve (AUC) and mesor were decreased (p < .05) between G32 and 24-48 hr postpartum. More robust rest-activity rhythms during G32 were positively (p=0.003) associated with gestational age of infant at birth. Time of cortisol peak (acrophase) during G22 was related with acrophase of activity (r=0.66; p = 0.001) and blood glucose levels (r= 0.58; p=0.006). During G22, minutes of wake after sleep onset was positively related to cortisol mesor and AUC (p <0.05). Across all three time points r24 of activity was related with cortisol amplitude (r=0.33; p=0.01). The association of less robust activity rhythms with earlier gestational age of infant at birth supports the potential that circadian system disruption is linked to maternal-fetal health outcomes. Further investigations are needed to understand the interaction among rest-activity and the metabolic-hormonal system during pregnancy and their association with maternal-fetal health outcomes.
Cite this work
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
- Trujillo, A.; Ahmed, A.; Casey, T. M. (2021). Rest-activity patterns and saliva cortisol rhythms during gestational weeks 22 and 32 and postpartum week 1. Purdue University Research Repository. doi:10.4231/1WB1-MN86