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Longitudinal Study of Depressive Symptoms and Health-Related Quality of Life During Pregnancy and After Delivery: The Health Status in Pregnancy (HIP) Study

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Abstract

Objective Depressive symptoms are known to affect functioning in early pregnancy. We estimated the effect of a change in depressive symptoms status on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) throughout pregnancy and after delivery. Methods Longitudinal study of 200 women. The independent variable was depressive symptoms, defined as a Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) score of ≥16. The dependent variable was HRQoL from 8 domains of the Medical Outcomes Study (SF-36) Short Form. Women were categorized based on the change in CES-D score: (1) never depressed, (2) became well, (3) became depressed and (4) always depressed. A random effects model was used to (1) estimate the effect of a change in depressive symptomatology from the first to the second trimester on HRQOL in the second trimester and (2) estimate the change in depressive symptomatology from the second to the third trimester on HRQoL in the third trimester and after delivery, adjusting for covariates. Intra-individual correlations were accounted for using generalized estimating equations (GEE). Results The proportion of women with depressive symptoms was 15%, 14%, and 30% in the first, second and third trimesters, respectively, and 9% after delivery. Women who became depressed had scores in the social domains that were 10–23 points and 19–31 points lower in the second and third trimesters, respectively, compared to women with no depressive symptoms. Women who became well had scores that were 3–31 points lower, compared to women with no depressive symptoms. Conclusions Alterations in depressive symptomatology have a substantial effect on functioning during pregnancy and after delivery.

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Acknowledgements

Dr. Nicholson was funded, in part, by the American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society. Drs. Nicholson and Powe are supported, in part, by the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (Grant numbers: 1K23 DK-067944-01 to Dr. Nicholson; 2K24 DKO2643-06A1 to Dr. Powe).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Rosanna Setse, Lisa A. Cooper & Neil R. Powe

  2. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 600 North Wolfe Street, Phipps 249, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Ruby Grogan & Wanda Nicholson

  3. Department of Biostatistics, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Luu Pham

  4. Department of Health Policy and Management, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Lisa A. Cooper & Neil R. Powe

  5. Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Lisa A. Cooper & Neil R. Powe

  6. Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Lisa A. Cooper & Neil R. Powe

  7. Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Donna Strobino & Wanda Nicholson

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  1. Rosanna Setse
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Correspondence to Wanda Nicholson.

Additional information

This paper was presented, in part, at the 134th Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, Boston, MA on November 8, 2006.

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Setse, R., Grogan, R., Pham, L. et al. Longitudinal Study of Depressive Symptoms and Health-Related Quality of Life During Pregnancy and After Delivery: The Health Status in Pregnancy (HIP) Study. Matern Child Health J 13, 577–587 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-008-0392-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-008-0392-7

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