Elevated Serum Cortisol Levels and associated Factors among Postpartum Mothers in Mbarara district, rural south western Uganda

Elevated Serum Cortisol Levels and associated Factors among Postpartum Mothers in Mbarara district, rural south western Uganda | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Elevated Serum Cortisol Levels and associated Factors among Postpartum Mothers in Mbarara district, rural south western Uganda Atuhaire Catherine, Taseera Kabanda, Atwine Daniel, Rukundo Zari Godfrey, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5928934/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: Serum cortisol is often elevated in postpartum mothers, but data on its prevalence and associated factors remain limited in many settings. The current study aimed at examining the factors associated with elevated serum cortisol levels among postpartum mothers in Mbarara district, rural southwestern Uganda. Methods: We conducted a facility based cross sectional study among mothers between 6 weeks and 6 months after childbirth. Using consecutive sampling, mothers were enrolled from postnatal clinics of two health facilities, Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital and Bwizibwera Health Center IV, a county level health facility in rural southwestern Uganda. Postpartum depression (PPD) was diagnosed using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI 7.0.2) for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5). The blood cortisol levels were measured using a chemiluminiscence with the use of a standard, commercially available competitive immunoassay (Diagnostic Products Corp. Nichols Institute Diagnostics, San Juan Capistrano, CA). The normal range was 5 to 25 mcg/dL. Results: We enrolled 309 postpartum mothers, and the prevalence of elevated serum cortisol levels was 26.2% (95% CI: 22.0-31.4). Elevated serum cortisol levels were significantly associated with PPD, health facility level attended by the mother, pre-diabetes and diabetes mellitus status, and decreased involvement in physical activity. Conclusion: In this study of postpartum depression was significantly associated with elevated serum cortisol levels, attending a rural healthcare facility, having pre-diabetes or diabetes mellitus status, and reduced physical activity. These findings underscore the need for targeted holistic interventions addressing both physical and mental health challenges in postpartum women. Serum cortisol Postpartum depression Physical activity Diabetes mellitus Rural Uganda Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 16 Jun, 2025 Reviews received at journal 15 Jun, 2025 Reviews received at journal 03 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 31 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 May, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 29 May, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 25 Apr, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 24 Apr, 2025 First submitted to journal 23 Apr, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5928934","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":447965634,"identity":"3e0767eb-8ddb-45ad-9902-42d869251b54","order_by":0,"name":"Atuhaire 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The current study aimed at examining the factors associated with elevated serum cortisol levels among postpartum mothers in Mbarara district, rural southwestern Uganda.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods:\u003c/strong\u003e We conducted a facility based cross sectional study among mothers between 6 weeks and 6 months after childbirth. Using consecutive sampling, mothers were enrolled from postnatal clinics of two health facilities, Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital and Bwizibwera Health Center IV, a county level health facility in rural southwestern Uganda. Postpartum depression (PPD) was diagnosed using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI 7.0.2) for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5). The blood cortisol levels were measured using a chemiluminiscence with the use of a standard, commercially available competitive immunoassay (Diagnostic Products Corp. 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