The impact of sleep quality and anxiety levels during pregnancy on the risk of preterm birth
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15574/HW.2025.4(179).7383Keywords:
pregnancy, sleep disorders, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, state anxiety, trait anxiety, Spielberger-Hanin anxiety scale, preterm birthAbstract
Sleep quality and anxiety levels in pregnant women are important predictors of obstetric complications. In today's world, with the increasing psycho-emotional stress on women of reproductive age, studying its impact on the course of pregnancy, in particular the risk of preterm birth (PTB), is extremely relevant.
Aim - to assess sleep quality and anxiety levels in pregnant women before delivery and determine their impact on the risk of PTB.
Materials and methods. Sixty-one pregnant women were examined, of whom 31 gave PTB at 24–36 weeks (main group) and 30 gave birth at term (control group). Sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and anxiety levels were assessed using the Spielberger-Hanin anxiety scale. Statistical data processing was performed using the licensed Statistica 6.1 package.
Results. We found significantly higher total sleep quality index scores ≥5 points in 77.4% of women in the main group compared to 33.3% in the control group, which showed severe sleep disorders. Significant differences were found between the study groups in the severity of anxiety scores. The level of state anxiety (SA) in patients in the main group averaged 36.7±5.7 points, compared to an average of 33.8±4.9 points in the control group. Trait anxiety (TA) in the control group, with an average score of 34.8±6.3 points, was lower than in the main group (average 37.2±7.8 points). Unlike the control group, significant correlations were found in women in the main group between components of sleep quality before childbirth and indicators of SA and TA.
Conclusions. The study confirmed that patients with PTB are significantly more likely to have sleep disorders and increased anxiety levels compared to women who had term births. This highlights the need for routine screening for sleep disorders and anxiety levels during antenatal care, which will facilitate early identification of risk groups and reduce the incidence of PTB and other obstetric complications.
The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki Declaration. The study protocol was approved by the local ethics committee. Informed consent was obtained from the patients for the study.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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