Risk factors associated with striae gravidarum

Striae gravidarum (SG) is a poorly characterized but common disfiguring condition of pregnancy.

To better characterize the epidemiological factors associated with SG.

An anonymous survey administered at Stanford Ambulatory Clinics sampled 161 women who had given birth.

Forty-eight-point-three percent of women with SG (43/89) versus 19.4% without SG (14/72) reported mothers with SG (odds ratio = 7.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.7, 18.6). Forty-seven percent of women with SG (42/89 women) versus 18.1% without SG (13/72) reported additional relatives with SG (odds ratio = 7.2, 95% CI 2.9, 18.2). Eighty-one percent of women with SG (68/84) versus 30.5% without SG (18/59) reported a history of breast or thigh striae (odds ratio = 8.6, 95% CI 3.8, 19.9). Forty-seven percent of women with SG versus 17% without SG were non-white (odds ratio = 4.2, 95% CI 1.9, 9.6).

This study suggests that a history of breast or thigh striae, family history, and race is significantly predictive of SG development.