Social
Subjective socioeconomic status before and during pregnancy and prenatal physical activity Julia MP Bittner* Julia MP Bittner Stephen E Gilman Tonja R Nansel Zhen Chen Cuilin Zhang Mary Chong Fabian Yap Jerry Yen Tan Hian Shiao-yng Chan Yap Seng Chong Johan Eriksson Peter Gluckman Michael Meany Bobby K Cheon
Background: Pregnant individuals with lower socioeconomic status (SES) are less likely to meet physical activity guidelines than those with higher SES. Perceptions of one’s SES compared to others (“subjective SES”) may contribute to socioeconomic disparities in physical activity. We examined associations between subjective SES and prenatal physical activity and whether these associations differed across education levels. Methods: Data are from the Singapore Preconception Study of Long-Term Maternal and Child Outcomes (S-PRESTO). Women reported subjective SES before becoming pregnant and in each trimester (range: 1-10; n=102). Preconception-third trimester difference score captured if subjective SES changed after pregnancy. Area under the curve of subjective SES over time quantified how subjective SES changed during pregnancy. Physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire score [IPAQ; inactive, minimally active, health enhancing physically active], weekly minutes walking [never, <120, 120-239, 240-479], weekly minutes of moderate physical activity [never, <150, >150]) was measured in the third trimester. We used ordinal logistic regression analysis to estimate the associations of preconception subjective SES and changes in subjective SES with physical activity. Effect modification by education level was examined. Results: Women with higher subjective SES throughout pregnancy had shorter walking duration (OR: 0.75 [95% CI: 0.60, 0.94]) and those whose subjective SES increased after becoming pregnant had a lower IPAQ score (OR: 0.69 [0.50, 0.96]). The relationship between subjective SES and walking duration was observed only among those with less than a college degree. Discussion: Contrary to our hypothesis, subjective SES was inversely associated with prenatal physical activity. This may be related to the high cost of car ownership in Singapore; those with higher status may drive for transportation and accumulate fewer minutes of physical activity.
