Childhood abuse is associated with stress-related sleep disturbance and poor sleep quality in pregnancy

Abstract

Objectives Childhood abuse is associated with increased risks of adult psychiatric disorders and physical health conditions. Accumulating evidence documents associations of childhood abuse with sleep disturbances in adulthood. However, to date, no study has evaluated associations of childhood abuse and sleep disturbances among pregnant women. Methods This cross-sectional study included 634 pregnant Peruvian women. In-person interviews were conducted in early pregnancy to collect information regarding socio-demographic characteristics, history of childhood abuse, and complaints of sleep disturbances. Spanish language version of the Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test (FIRST-S) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-S) were used to assess stress-related sleep disturbance and sleep quality, respectively. Logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Results Women who experienced any childhood abuse had a 1.65-fold increased odds of stress-related sleep disturbance (aOR=1.65; 95% CI: 1.15–2.38) and 2.11-fold increased odds of poor sleep quality during early pregnancy (aOR=2.11; 95% CI: 1.35–3.30) as compared with women who reported no abuse. Compared with women who reported no childhood abuse, those who reported both physical and sexual abuse during childhood were more than twice as likely to suffer from stress-related sleep disturbance (aOR=2.26; 95% CI:1.44–3.53) and poor sleep quality (aOR=2.43; 95% CI:1.45–4.09). Conclusions A history of childhood abuse is associated with increased odds of stress-related sleep disturbance and poor sleep quality during pregnancy. These findings, if replicated, should be used to inform the development of trauma-informed care for such sleep disturbances induced by childhood trauma.

Childhood physical and sexual abuse experiences associated with post-traumatic stress disorder among pregnant women

“…Details of the study procedures for the PrOMIS cohort study have been previously described (34, 43, 44). The analytical population for this study was derived from 3,045 participants enrolled in the PrOMIS cohort.…”

Intergenerational Transmission of Maternal Childhood Maltreatment Exposure: Implications for Fetal Brain Development

“…85,86 Women exposed to physical and/or sexual abuse have been reported during pregnancy to have increased cortisol concentrations in hair (a measure of cumulative cortisol production). 87 Pregnant women with a history of CM also are more likely to develop conditions in pregnancy such as depression, 12,56,88 sleep disturbances, 89 and certain obstetric complications 15,90 that, in turn, are associated with altered MPF endocrine and immune/inflammatory stress biology. 91 We recently published the first study that established an association between a woman’s exposure to maltreatment in her own childhood and placental-fetal stress physiology during pregnancy (the magnitude and production of placental corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH, a hormone directly implicated in key developmental processes in the fetal brain and other peripheral systems).…”

Do sleep problems mediate the link between adverse childhood experiences and delinquency in preadolescent children in foster care?

“…Exposure to ACEs, including violence, parental conflict, and peer victimization, is associated with poor sleep in youth (El-Sheikh, Buckhalt, Mize, & Acebo, 2006; Lepore & Kliewer, 2013), and has been linked with sleep problems into adulthood (Gelaye et al, 2015; Kajeepeta, Gelaye, Jackson, & Williams, 2015). ACEs can trigger a psychological and biological response to stress, which results in the release of stress hormones such as corticotropin-releasing hormones (Lupien, McEwan, Gunnar, & Heim, 2009).…”