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Published on: January 12, 2018
The Impact of Physical Demands and Work Hours on the Risk of Preterm Birth Among Black Women
Florence N Kizza1, Danielle R Gartner, Xiaoyu Liang
1From the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan (F.N.K., D.R.G., X.L., L.H.M., C.Y.J., D.P.M.).
Objective:
We investigated the impact of work hours and occupational physical demands on preterm birth (PTB) and explored potential effect modifiers of these associations.
Methods:
Four hundred twenty-nine Black women employed during pregnancy self-reported hours worked per week. The Karasek Job Content Questionnaire assessed prenatal occupational physical demands. Log binomial regression models were used to estimate associations, adjust for potential confounders, and investigate effect measure modification by psychosocial factors and racism.
Results:
Prolonged work hours (>40 h/wk) (adjusted prevalence ratio = 1.83; 95% confidence interval: 0.85-3.94) and heavy lifting (adjusted prevalence ratio = 1.33; 95% confidence interval: 0.88-2.00) were associated with increased PTB prevalence, but awkward body positions were inversely associated with PTB. Social support modified the physical demands and PTB association.
Conclusions:
Both occupational exposures and nonoccupational factors, such as social support, may be important in the etiology of PTB.
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