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A Life Course Perspective on Depressive Symptoms in Mid-Pregnancy

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Objective: To examine the prevalence of depressive symptoms in mid-pregnancy and their relation to life circumstances across the life course in a community-based sample. Methods: The Pregnancy Outcomes and Community Health (POUCH) Study enrolled women at 16–26 weeks' gestation from 52 clinics in five Michigan communities. At enrollment women completed a screening instrument for depressive symptoms (CES-D) and questions about life circumstances covering three “periods,” i.e. previous 6 months, adulthood, and childhood. Questions were grouped into sub-constructs (e.g., abuse, economic, substance use, loss, and legal) for each “period” and evaluated in relation to CES-D scores. Analyses included 1321 POUCH participants divided into three subgroups: teens; women ≥20 years insured by Medicaid (disadvantaged); and women ≥20 years not insured by Medicaid (advantaged). Results: A positive CES-D screen (≥16) was more common in teens (46%) and disadvantaged women (47%) than in advantaged women (23%). Recent problems (previous 6 months) with abuse, economics, and substance use in someone close were each associated with higher adjusted mean CES-D scores (2.3–7.5 increase) in the three subgroups of women. In life course analyses, abuse and substance use in teens, and abuse and economic problems in disadvantaged and advantaged women were strongly linked to higher adjusted mean CES-D scores when these problems occurred both in childhood and adulthood (range 2.2–7.1 increase), whereas the associations were more modest when problems were confined to childhood. Conclusions: Strategies for addressing the public health problem of depressive symptoms in mid-pregnancy will benefit from a life course perspective.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development grant numbers R01 HD34543-01 and R01 HD034543-07 and National Institute of Nursing Research and the March of Dimes Perinatal Epidemiological Research Initiative Program grants 20-FY98-0697 through 20-FY04-37. The contributions of the other members of the Prematurity Study Group, Nigel Paneth, Rachel Fisher, Lynn Reuss, Bertha Bullen, David Kallen, Eric Devos, Joseph Marshall, Karen Friderici, Renee Canady, and Pat Senagore, are greatly acknowledged. The authors thank POUCH study participants, the participating clinics for their assistance and cooperation, and Sean Zhou for data management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

    Claudia Holzman DVM, MPH, PhD, Janet Eyster, Linda Beth Tiedje & Mohammad Hossein Rahbar

  2. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology and Institute for Health Care Studies, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

    Lee Anne Roman

  3. Data Coordinating Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

    Mohammad Hossein Rahbar

  4. Grand Rapids Medical Education and Research Center, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

    Lee Anne Roman

  5. Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

    Elizabeth Seagull

  6. Michigan State University, College of Human MedicineDepartment of Epidemiology, B601 West Fee Hall, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Claudia Holzman DVM, MPH, PhD

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  1. Claudia Holzman DVM, MPH, PhD
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Correspondence to Claudia Holzman DVM, MPH, PhD.

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Holzman, C., Eyster, J., Tiedje, L.B. et al. A Life Course Perspective on Depressive Symptoms in Mid-Pregnancy. Matern Child Health J 10, 127–138 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-005-0044-0

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