SynthesisFrontiers in psychology2022
Prenatal allostatic load and preterm birth: A systematic review.
Synthesis in Frontiers in psychology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Mid-Trimester Allostatic Load and Spontaneous Preterm Birth in a Cohort of Pregnant Women Living with HIV in Zambia.Maternal and child health journal · 2025Trial
- Comparing allostatic load scoring methods and timing: their links to preterm birth outcomes.AJOG global reports · 2026Article
- Allostatic Load, Neighborhood Disadvantage, and Birth Outcomes.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Superwoman Schema Endorsement and its Association to Perceived Stress During Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes among Non-Hispanic Black American Women.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Greek validation of the Pregnancy Experience Scale-Brief (PES-Brief): psychometric evaluation of prenatal stress in pregnant women.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Observational
- Distinct maternal DNA methylation associations with gestational age at early and late-mid term pregnancy in a low- and middle-income country: evaluation of biological, genetic, and psychosocial contributors.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- The impact of maternal chronic stress on spontaneous preterm birth: evidence from a Chinese cohort study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- The role of allostatic load in adverse pregnancy outcomes: a multisystem, developmental perspective.Frontiers in global women's health · 2025Review
- The Role of Racism in Childhood Obesity.Current obesity reports · 2024Review
- Controlling fetal stress for preventing adverse health conditions in neonates and children.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The impact of opioids on the transcriptional landscape of human villous trophoblasts.Placenta · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: Allostatic load refers to cumulative neuroendocrine burden and has been postulated to mediate and moderate physiological and psychological stress-related responses. This may have important implications for the risk of preterm birth. This systematic review examines the evidence on the association between prenatal allostatic load and preterm birth. Data sources: A comprehensive search of seven electronic databases was conducted from inception to August 23, 2022 to identify all English-language observational and mixed methods studies examining allostatic load and preterm birth with no year or geographic restrictions. Study eligibility criteria: Studies were included if they measured allostatic load, evaluated as the cumulative effect of any combination of more than one allostatic load biomarker, during pregnancy. Studies must have observed preterm birth, defined as < 37 weeks' gestational age, as a primary or secondary outcome of interest. Study appraisal and synthesis methods: The Quality In Prognosis Studies tool was used to evaluate risk of bias within included studies. A narrative synthesis was conducted to explore potential associations between allostatic load and preterm birth, and sources of heterogeneity. Results: Three prospective cohort studies were identified and revealed mixed evidence for an association between allostatic load and preterm birth. One study reported a statistically significant association while the other two studies reported little to no evidence for an association. Heterogeneity in when and how allostatic load was measured, limitations in study design and cohort socio-demographics may have contributed to the mixed evidence. Conclusions: This review provides insight into key individual-, community-, and study-level characteristics that may influence the association between allostatic load and preterm birth. Knowledge gaps are identified as foci for future research, including heterogeneity in allostatic load biomarkers and allostatic load index algorithms as well as pregnancy-specific considerations for allostatic load measurement. Further investigation of the allostatic load framework in the context of perinatal mental health is needed to advance understandings of maternal, infant, and child health. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42020208990, PROSPERO, identifier: CRD42020208990.
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