Latent profiles of kinesiophobia in pregnant women with low back pain and its relationship with gestational weight gain.

OBJECTIVE

To explore distinct latent profiles of kinesiophobia among pregnant women with pregnancy-related low back pain (PLBP), and analyze the association between different kinesiophobia subtypes and gestational weight gain (GWG), so as to provide evidence for targeted multidisciplinary intervention strategies in clinical prenatal care.

METHODS

A cross-sectional observational study design was conducted. A total of 325 pregnant women diagnosed with PLBP were recruited from a tertiary maternity hospital in Wuxi, China, between August and December 2023. General demographic questionnaires, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK) were used for data collection. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was applied to identify heterogeneous subgroups of kinesiophobia. Chi-square test and multinomial logistic regression were adopted to analyze the relationship between kinesiophobia profiles and GWG.

RESULTS

Three latent profiles of kinesiophobia were identified: low fear-activity tolerance type (14.15%), moderate fear-cautious concern type (56.92%) and high fear-comprehensive avoidance type (28.93%). The overall rate of abnormal GWG among participants was 48.9%, and excessive GWG accounted for 39.1%. Women in the high fear-comprehensive avoidance group had a significantly higher possibility of excessive GWG (OR = 0.299, P = 0.008). Pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and kinesiophobia profile were independent influencing factors of GWG.

CONCLUSION

Significant heterogeneity of kinesiophobia exists among PLBP pregnant women, and kinesiophobia is closely associated with gestational weight gain. Clinical staff should conduct regular kinesiophobia assessment for PLBP pregnant women. Multidisciplinary targeted interventions are particularly recommended for women with high-level kinesiophobia to help them achieve reasonable gestational weight gain and improve maternal and infant health.