Associations between social support and physical activity in postpartum: a Norwegian multi-ethnic cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Social support is associated with higher self-reported physical activity (PA) in postpartum women, but it is unknown if similar association occur when using objective PA data. The aim was to explore the associations between social support and objectively recorded moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) postpartum, and if associations differed across ethnic groups. METHODS: We used data from 636 women who participated in the STORK Groruddalen cohort study (2008-2010). MVPA minutes/day in bouts of ≥ 10 minutes was recorded by SenseWear Armband™ Pro3 (SWA) over 7 days, 14 weeks postpartum. Social support for PA from family or friends was measured by a modified 12-item version of the Social Support for Exercise Scale. We used single items, family support mean score (6 items) and friends' support mean score (6-items) in four separate count models, and adjusted for SWA week, age, ethnicity, education, parity, body mass index and time since birth. We tested interactions between social support and ethnicity. Analyses were performed on complete cases and imputed data. RESULTS: Based on imputed data, we observed that women who reported low and high support from family accumulated 16.2 (IQR: 6.1-39.1) and 18.6 (IQR: 5.0-46.5) MVPA minutes/day, respectively. Women who reported low and high support from friends accumulated 18.7 (IQR: 5.9-43.6) and 16.8 (IQR: 5.0-45.8) MVPA minutes/day. We observed a 12% increase in MVPA minutes/day for each additional increase in mean family support score (IRR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.25). Women reporting high level of support from family on 'discuss PA', 'co-participation' and 'take over chores' accumulated 33%, 37% and 25% more MVPA minutes/day than women reporting low level of support respectively ('discuss PA': IRR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.72, 'co-participation': IRR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.13 to 1.66 and 'take over chores': IRR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.54). Associations were not modified by ethnicity. No statistically significant association between support from friends and MVPA was observed. Similar results were found in complete case analyses, with a few exceptions. CONCLUSION: Overall family support and specific forms of support from family were associated with MVPA across ethnic groups, while support from friends was not associated with MVPA postpartum.

Cross-Cultural Contact and Norwegian Language Skills Among Ethnic Minority Women in Norway, and Relationship with Physical Activity in Pregnancy and Postpartum: The STORK-Groruddalen Cohort Study.

There are few studies of the migration context factors and physical activity (PA) level among minority ethnic women in Europe. We investigated the association between migration context factors and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among minority ethnic women. Objectively recorded MVPA were obtained from 487 minority ethnic women included in the STORK-Groruddalen Cohort Study at three time points in pregnancy/postpartum. We investigated the associations between (a) contact with ethnic Norwegians and (b) Norwegian language skills and. No associations were observed in pregnancy. Postpartum, women who reported contact with ethnic Norwegians accumulated 17 MVPA min/day (95% CI: -.60, 34.54) more than women with no contact. In complete case analyses, this difference was significant (27 MVPA min/day (95% CI: 8.60, 44.54)). In early postpartum women with contact with ethnic Norwegians seems to be more physically active than women without contact. No associations were observed in pregnancy.

Vitamin D, Gestational Diabetes, and Measures of Glucose Metabolism in a Population-Based Multiethnic Cohort.

OBJECTIVE: We explored associations between maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) status during pregnancy and gestational diabetes (GDM) and other measures of glucose metabolism. METHODS: We analysed 25(OH)D at 15 and 28 gestational weeks (GW) in 745 multiethnic pregnant women attending antenatal care units in Oslo, Norway, between 2008 and 2010. GDM was diagnosed with a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test at 28 GW. Separate regression analyses were performed to investigate associations between 25(OH)D and GDM and measures of glucose metabolism. RESULTS: A higher proportion of ethnic minority women had GDM (p < 0.01) and low 25(OH)D (p < 0.01) compared to Europeans. In logistic regression analyses, 25(OH)D < 50 nmol/L was associated with GDM after adjusting for age, parity, education, and season (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.1-2.2). After additional adjustments for variables reflecting fat mass (skinfolds or BMI) and ethnicity, the association disappeared with ethnicity having a much stronger effect than the adiposity variables. We got similar results exploring effects on other measures of glucose metabolism and when change in 25(OH)D from inclusion to 28 GW was taken into account. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D deficiency was not associated with GDM or glucose metabolism in a multiethnic population-based study, after adjustments for confounding factors, in particular ethnicity.