Distinct trajectories of perinatal depression in Chinese women: application of latent growth mixture modelling

• Published in: BMC pregnancy and childbirth Vol. 22; no. 1; p. 24
• Main Authors: Hong, Lan, Le, Tao, Lu, Yinping, Shi, Xiang, Xiang, Ludan, Liu, Meng, Zhang, Wenmiao, Zhou, Meixi, Wang, Jiangling, Xu, Dongwu, Yu, Xin, Zhao, Ke
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central 10.01.2022; BMC
• Subjects: Adult; Asian people; Asian People - psychology; Child development; China - epidemiology; Depression - epidemiology; Families & family life; Female; Hospitals; Humans; Hypotheses; Informed consent; Latent Class Analysis; LGMM; Longitudinal trajectories; Medical research; Mental depression; Mothers; Obstetrics; Perinatal depression; Peripartum Period - psychology; Postpartum depression; Pregnancy; Pregnancy complications; Protective Factors; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Risk Factors; Social support; Womens health; China; LGMM; Longitudinal trajectories; Perinatal depression; Social support
• ISSN: 1471-2393; 1471-2393
• DOI: 10.1186/s12884-021-04316-0

Current research on perinatal depression rarely pays attention to the continuity and volatility of depression symptoms over time, which is very important for the early prediction and prognostic evaluation of perinatal depression. This study investigated the trajectories of perinatal depression symptoms and aimed to explore the factors related to these trajectories. The study recruited 550 women during late pregnancy (32 ± 4 weeks of gestation) and followed them up 1 and 6 weeks postpartum. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Latent growth mixture modelling (LGMM) was used to identify trajectories of depressive symptoms during pregnancy. Two trajectories of perinatal depressive symptoms were identified: "decreasing" (n = 524, 95.3%) and "increasing" (n = 26, 4.7%). History of smoking, alcohol use and gestational hypertension increased the chance of belonging to the increasing trajectories, and a high level of social support was a protective factor for maintaining a decreasing trajectory. This study identified two trajectories of perinatal depression and the factors associated with each trajectory. Paying attention to these factors and providing necessary psychological support services during pregnancy would effectively reduce the incidence of perinatal depression and improve patient prognosis.