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Trajectories of antenatal depression and adverse pregnancy outcomes: A prospective cohort study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2025

Jianfei Chen
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Siqi Li
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Sai Yang
Affiliation:
Department of Nursing, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
Yang Chen
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Jackson Jr Nforbewing Ndenkeh
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, Yale University , New Haven, CT, USA
Intan Maharani Sulistyawati Batubara
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, Yale University , New Haven, CT, USA
Luyang Zhu
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Jun Liu
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Xinlong Pan
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Zhijie Zou*
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Cuifang Fan*
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University , Wuhan, China
Xiaoli Chen*
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Zhao Ni
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, Yale University , New Haven, CT, USA
*
Corresponding author: Zhijie Zou, Cuifang Fan and Xiaoli Chen; Emails: zouzhijie@whu.edu.cn; 359568292@qq.com; chenxl72@whu.edu.cn
Corresponding author: Zhijie Zou, Cuifang Fan and Xiaoli Chen; Emails: zouzhijie@whu.edu.cn; 359568292@qq.com; chenxl72@whu.edu.cn
Corresponding author: Zhijie Zou, Cuifang Fan and Xiaoli Chen; Emails: zouzhijie@whu.edu.cn; 359568292@qq.com; chenxl72@whu.edu.cn

Abstract

Background

Antenatal depression symptom is a global health concern, but the trajectories of antenatal depression symptom vary across different studies. Additionally, the influencing factors and adverse pregnancy outcomes of antenatal depression symptom may differ across heterogeneous subtypes, which requires further exploration.

Methods

A prospective cohort study was conducted in Hubei province, China, from July 2022 to September 2023. Pregnant women (<14 weeks) were enrolled and followed up at 16, 21, 28, and 37 gestational weeks, with depressive symptom measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Latent class growth modeling and logistic regression were used for data analysis.

Results

Of 1034 women enrolled, 725 completed all follow-ups. Four depressive symptom trajectories were identified: no depression group (32.13%), persistent subclinical depression group (42.48%), persistent moderate depression group (19.17%), and persistent high depression group (6.21%). Risk factors of depressive symptom trajectories included low social capital, unplanned pregnancy, primiparity, mental illness history, high perceived stress, and low resilience (p < 0.05). Compared to the no depression group, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk was 1.90 times higher in the persistent moderate group and 2.59 times higher in the persistent high group; small for gestational age (SGA) risk was 2.42 times higher in the persistent moderate group and 3.98 times higher in the persistent high group.

Conclusions

This study identified four antenatal depressive symptom trajectories. Persistent moderate and high depression groups were linked to GDM and SGA, highlighting the importance of mental health assessments and intervention for pregnant women, especially those with higher depression severity, to prevent adverse outcomes.

Information

Type
Research Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
Figure 0

Figure 1. Flow chart of study participants.

Figure 1

Table 1. Baseline characteristics and comparison of retained and lost to follow-up individuals

Figure 2

Figure 2. Trajectory of antenatal depressive symptom development. Note: Class 1, no depression group (32.13%); Class 2, persistent subclinical depression group (42.48%); Class 3, persistent moderate depression group (19.17%); Class 4, persistent high depression group (6.21%).

Figure 3

Table 2. Multinomial logistic regression analysis of factors influencing the prenatal depressive symptom development trajectory (N = 725)

Figure 4

Table 3. Binary logistic regression analysis of trajectories of antenatal depressive symptoms and adverse pregnancy outcomes (N = 725)

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