Open Access
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Am J Perinatol 2024; 41(14): 1895-1907
DOI: 10.1055/a-2260-5051
Review Article

Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder as Important Risk Factors for Gestational Metabolic Dysfunction

Mariana Rocha
1   Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
,
Keziah Daniels
2   Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
,
Suchitra Chandrasekaran
3   Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
,
3   Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
4   Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
› Institutsangaben

Funding This study was supported by the National Institute of Health, grant no.: MH115174 (V.M.).
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Abstract

Gestational metabolic diseases adversely impact the health of pregnant persons and their offspring. Pregnant persons of color are impacted disproportionately by gestational metabolic disease, highlighting the need to identify additional risk factors contributing to racial-ethnic pregnancy-related health disparities. Trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are associated with increased risk for cardiometabolic disorders in nonpregnant persons, making them important factors to consider when identifying contributors to gestational metabolic morbidity and mortality health disparities. Here, we review current literature investigating trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder as psychosocial risk factors for gestational metabolic disorders, inclusive of gestational diabetes, low birth weight and fetal growth restriction, gestational hypertension, and preeclampsia. We also discuss the physiological mechanisms by which trauma and PTSD may contribute to gestational metabolic disorders. Ultimately, understanding the biological underpinnings of how trauma and PTSD, which disproportionately impact people of color, influence risk for gestational metabolic dysfunction is critical to developing therapeutic interventions that reduce complications arising from gestational metabolic disease.

Key Points

  • Gestational metabolic diseases disproportionately impact the health of pregnant persons of color.

  • Trauma and PTSD are associated with increased risk for cardiometabolic disorders in nonpregnant per.

  • Trauma and PTSD impact physiological cardiometabolic mechanisms implicated in gestational metabolic.



Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 31. August 2023

Angenommen: 28. Januar 2024

Accepted Manuscript online:
02. Februar 2024

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
06. März 2024

© 2024. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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