Study links forward bending at work to higher miscarriage risk
7 reported3 unconfirmed
A study based on Danish data suggests that bending forward and walking for extended periods at work during early pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of miscarriage. Researchers analyzed 803,829 pregnancies among 475,312 women in Denmark between 2004 and 2018, using a pregnancy-specific job exposure model that combined activity tracker readings and expert evaluations. The findings, published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, showed that each additional hour of forward bending at a 30-degree angle or more in an eight-hour workday was linked to a 36% higher risk of miscarriage. Each extra hour of walking was associated with an 18% higher risk, and each additional hour of standing was linked to a 3% higher risk. About one in 10 pregnancies in the study ended in miscarriage, lower than the usual prevalence of about 15%. The researchers noted this was an observational study, so no firm conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn, and further studies are needed to confirm the findings.
What’s reported
The study analyzed 803,829 pregnancies among 475,312 women in Denmark between 2004 and 2018.
Each additional hour of forward bending at a 30-degree angle in an eight-hour workday was associated with a 36% higher risk of miscarriage.
Each extra hour of walking was associated with an 18% higher risk of miscarriage.
Each additional hour of standing was associated with a 3% higher risk of miscarriage.
About one in 10 pregnancies (81,307) in the study ended in miscarriage, lower than the usual prevalence of about 15%.
The study was observational, so no firm conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn.
Researchers from Bispebjerg hospital in Copenhagen and the University of Copenhagen conducted the study.
Open questions
Whether the observed associations are causal or due to other factors.
How forward bending, walking, and standing might affect miscarriage risk through mechanisms such as placental perfusion or hormonal regulation.
Whether the findings apply to populations outside Denmark.
Key figures
Prof Asma Khalil, professor of obstetrics and maternal medicine and consultant obstetrician at City St George’s, University of London (not involved with the study)
Researchers from Bispebjerg hospital in Copenhagen and the University of Copenhagen
Sources: The Guardian
