Do Physical Activity and Personality Matter for Hair Cortisol Concentration and Self-Reported Stress in Pregnancy? A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020;
17:ijerph17218050. [PMID:
33139602 PMCID:
PMC7663188 DOI:
10.3390/ijerph17218050]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Revised: 10/20/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Background: Physical activity reduces psychosocial stress in pregnant women. Stress levels might be self-reported (psychosocial) or measured with biomarkers, one of which is hair cortisol concentration (HCC). Additionally, personality has been associated with stress and physical activity. Methods: The first aim of our study was to explore the differences in self-reported stress assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and in HCC with regard to physical activity level in pregnant (N = 29) and non-pregnant (N = 21) women. The second aim was to analyze the correlations among perceived stress, HCC, frequency of exercise and personality in the two groups separately. Results: There was a significant difference in frequency of exercise and self-reported stress between the two groups, with a lower level in pregnant women, but no differences in HCC and in personality were found. In the group of pregnant women, there was a significant negative correlation between HCC and frequency of exercise sessions, with the latter correlating positively with openness to experience. In the group of non-pregnant women, perceived stress negatively correlated with extraversion, agreeableness and emotional stability. HCC correlated negatively with conscientiousness. Conclusions: Our findings indicate the importance of physical activity programs dedicated to pregnant women for their life quality.
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