Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2023 February, 259(4)
Social Capital and Physical Activity among Japanese Pregnant Women: Adjunct Study of Japan Environment and Children′s Study in Miyagi Prefecture
Shota Sugiyama,1 Haruki Momma,1 Aya Yamada,1 Cong Huang,1,3 Nozomi Tatsuta,4 Kasumi Sakurai,4 Kunihiko Nakai,4 Takahiro Arima,5 Nobuo Yaegashi6 and Ryoichi Nagatomi1,2
1Department of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
2Division of Biomedical Engineering for Health and Welfare, Tohoku University Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
3Department of Sports and Exercise Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
4Department of Development and Environmental Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
5Department of Informative Genetics, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
6Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Adequate physical activity during pregnancy is crucial for maternal and fetal health. Although physical activity during pregnancy is restricted, social support and trust may have a favorable influence on physical activity. This study aimed to examine the association between cognitive social capital during pregnancy and prenatal physical activity among Japanese individuals. We also investigated whether social capital has an extended influence during pregnancy on physical activity 1.5 years after delivery. The cognitive social capital of 3,055 pregnant women in their second trimester was measured using nine questions on a self-administered questionnaire. Each cognitive social capital was classified into two or four groups based on their scores. Physical activity during pregnancy was measured using a validated questionnaire in the second trimester and at 1.5 years after delivery. Participants were classified as having adequate physical activity (≥ 150 min/week) or inadequate physical activity (< 150 min/week) based on the physical activity guidelines during pregnancy. After adjusting for confounders, emotional support was positively associated with the prevalence of adequate prenatal physical activity (P for trend = 0.002). Moreover, there was a positive association between emotional support during pregnancy and the prevalence of adequate physical activity 1.5 years after delivery. Among Japanese women, emotional support during pregnancy was associated with a higher prevalence of adequate prenatal physical activity during pregnancy and at 1.5 years after delivery.
Keywords —— emotional support; physical inactivity; pregnancy; social support; social trust
© 2023 Tohoku University Medical Press
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med 2023, 259, 307-318.
Correspondence: Ryoichi Nagatomi, M.D., Ph.D., Division of Biomedical Engineering for Health and Welfare, Tohoku University Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8575, Japan.
e-mail: nagatomi@med.tohoku.ac.jp