Risk factors associated with striae gravidarum

Background: Striae gravidarum (SG) is a poorly characterized but common disfiguring condition of pregnancy. Objective: To better characterize the epidemiological factors associated with SG. Methods: An anonymous survey administered at Stanford Ambulatory Clinics sampled 161 women who had given birth. Results: Forty-eight-point-three percent of women with SG (43/89) versus 19.4% without SG (14/72) reported mothers with SG (odds ratio = 7.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.7, 18.6). Forty-seven percent of women with SG (42/89 women) versus 18.1% without SG (13/72) reported additional relatives with SG (odds ratio = 7.2, 95% CI 2.9, 18.2). Eighty-one percent of women with SG (68/84) versus 30.5% without SG (18/59) reported a history of breast or thigh striae (odds ratio = 8.6, 95% CI 3.8, 19.9). Forty-seven percent of women with SG versus 17% without SG were non-white (odds ratio = 4.2, 95% CI 1.9, 9.6). Conclusion: This study suggests that a history of breast or thigh striae, family history, and race is significantly predictive of SG development.