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Pre-pregnancy body mass index moderates the effect of maternal depressive symptoms on small-for-gestational-age infants

Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics volume 288, pages 15–21 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

We aimed to investigate whether the negative effects of maternal depressive symptoms on Small for gestational age (SGA) was moderated by pre-pregnancy body mass index.

Methods

A total of 9,851 women provided self-reported height and pre-pregnancy weight at their first prenatal visit. Pre-pregnancy BMI was categorized according to the BMI cut point ranges for Chinese adults. Depression during pregnancy was assessed by using standardized questionnaires. Demographic characteristics and birth outcomes, including gestational age at birth and birth weight, were collected through the interviews and case history. Multiple regression analysis was used to estimate the relationship between depressive symptoms and SGA among various pre-pregnancy BMI groups.

Results

The relationship between depressive symptoms and SGA was inconsistent among three pre-pregnancy BMI groups. The incidence of SGA was positively related with depressive symptoms only among women with pre-pregnancy underweight [odds ratio (OR) 1.89, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.12–3.21].

Conclusions

The negative effect of depressive symptoms during pregnancy on SGA depends on pre-pregnancy BMI.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge and thank the doctors and nurses who assisted with the study in those MCH centers. We also would like to thank all the pregnancy women who participated in this study. This study was funded by the Key Projects in the National Key Technologies R&D Program (No. 2006BAI05A03), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81072310, 30901203 and 30901202), the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Anhui Medical University (No. XJ201019) and the Higher Education Department of Anhui Provincial Natural Science Research Project (No. KJ2011A165).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they do not have any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence their work.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81st Meishan Road, Hefei, 230032, China

    Ling Tang, Peng Zhu, Jia-Hu Hao, Kun Huang & Fang-Biao Tao

  2. Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Population Health and Aristogenics, Anhui Medical University, 81st Meishan Road, Hefei, 230032, China

    Shao-Jun Xu, Hong Wang & Lei Wang

Authors
  1. Ling Tang
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  2. Peng Zhu
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  3. Jia-Hu Hao
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  4. Kun Huang
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  5. Shao-Jun Xu
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  6. Hong Wang
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  7. Lei Wang
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  8. Fang-Biao Tao
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fang-Biao Tao.

Additional information

L. Tang and P. Zhu contributed equally to this work.

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Tang, L., Zhu, P., Hao, JH. et al. Pre-pregnancy body mass index moderates the effect of maternal depressive symptoms on small-for-gestational-age infants. Arch Gynecol Obstet 288, 15–21 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-013-2720-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-013-2720-4

Keywords

  • Body mass index
  • Antenatal depressive symptoms
  • Pregnancy
  • Small for gestational age