Associations of COVID-19 lockdown exposure with gestational
length
The exposed group had a shorter gestational length than the unexposed
group (38.66±1.46 weeks vs 38.74±1.46 weeks). The Level I response (vs
no exposure) was significantly associated with a 0.06 (95%CI: 0.05,
0.07) week decrease in gestational length in the total study sample
after adjusting for confounders (Table 2). Subgroup analyses showed
significant associations between lockdown exposure and decreased
gestational length only among pregnant women whose gestational ages were
<24 GWs or 28th-31st GWs
on the first day of lockdown (1/23/2020). The mean difference varied
between -0.11 and -0.04 weeks.
We observed a negative association between cumulative lockdown exposure
dose and gestational length (Table 2). Each 100 unit increase in the
cumulative exposure dose during the first 22 GWs was associated with a
0.05 (95%CI: 0.04, 0.06) week decrease in gestational length, after
adjusting for confounders. In addition, compared to the unexposed group,
the Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4 quantiles of cumulative exposure were associated
with 0.09 (0.07, 0.11), 0.13 (0.11, 0.16), 0.14 (0.11, 0.16), and 0.09
(0.07, 0.11) weeks decrease in gestational length, respectively.