Cluster Analysis of the Combined Association of Sleep and Physical Activity with Healthy Behavior and Psychological Health in Pregnant Women

Abstract

The purposes of the study were to (1) identify clusters based on patterns of sleep quality and duration and physical activity levels of healthy Korean pregnant women, and (2) subsequently investigate the association of identified clusters with pre-pregnancy healthy behaviors, depressive symptoms, and pregnancy stress. Two hundred eighty-four pregnant women participated in the study while attending a prenatal education program provided by a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea. The survey questionnaire consisted of the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale. We used the Latent GOLD to identify distinct clusters and the chi-square test and ANOVA to compare clusters. We identified three clusters: 'good sleeper' (63.4%), 'poor sleeper' (24.6%), and 'low activity' (12.0%). Women in the good-sleeper cluster were more likely to have higher education and income levels and reported more healthy behaviors before pregnancy. Poor-sleeper and low-activity clusters were more likely to report higher scores in depressive symptoms and pregnancy stress (p < 0.001 and p = 0.005, respectively). Tailored intervention for pregnant women who are physically inactive or sleep poorly may promote their psychological well-being as well as bringing good obstetric outcomes.