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Mental and Physical Distress and High-Risk Behaviors Among Reproductive-Age Women

Indu B. Ahluwalia, MPH, PhD^*, Karin A. Mack, PhD and Ali Mokdad, PhD^*

From the *Division of Adult and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, and Division of Unintentional Injury, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.

Address reprint requests to: Indu Ahluwalia, MPH, PhD, Division of Adult and Community Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, Mail-stop K-66, Atlanta, GA 30341–3724; e-mail: Iahluwalia{at}cdc.gov.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of mental and physical distress indicators among women of reproductive age and the association of these indicators with cigarette smoking and alcohol use, by pregnancy status.

METHODS: The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data for several years were aggregated across states and weighted for this analysis. Seven measures of self-reported mental and physical distress and general health were examined along with demographic variables.

RESULTS: Overall, 6.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.5–6.9) of women reported frequent physical distress, 12.3% (95% CI 12.0–12.6) reported frequent mental distress, 9.9% (95% CI 9.4–10.4) reported frequent depression, 18.4% (95% CI 17.8–19.1) reported feeling anxious, and 34.3% (95% CI 33.5–35.1) reported that they frequently did not get enough rest. At the time of the survey 4.6% of the women were pregnant. Pregnant women were less likely than nonpregnant women to report frequent mental distress. Although there was attenuation of cigarette smoking and alcohol use during pregnancy, those with mental and physical distress were more likely to consume cigarettes and alcohol than were those without such experiences.

CONCLUSION: High proportions of reproductive-age women report frequent mental and physical distress. Women experiencing mental and physical distress were more likely to report consuming cigarettes and alcohol than women without such experiences.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III

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