Food insecurity and poor health during pregnancy are associated with depression symptoms among low-income pregnant Latinas

The objective of this study was to evaluate the predictors of depression symptoms during pregnancy among low-income Latinas (N=128). Depression symptoms were assessed using the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). All participants reported experiencing depressive symptoms within the past week of their pregnancy, with severity ranging from 1 (low levels) to 47 (high levels). Overall, 31.5% reported moderate to high levels of depressive symptoms (cutoff value >21). Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine significant predictors (p<0.10) of moderate/high levels of depression symptoms during pregnancy. Participants who experienced food insecurity during pregnancy, as measured by an adapted version of the US Household Food Security Survey Module, were 2.6 times more likely to experience moderate/high levels of depressive symptoms compared to those who were food secure (95% CI: 0.96-7.00). Women who perceived their health as poor/regular during pregnancy were 7.9 times more likely than those who reported good/very good/excellent health to experience moderate/high levels of depressive symptoms (CI: 2.52-24.60). Experiencing heartburn during pregnancy (OR=5.56, CI: 1.64-18.81) and being primiparous (OR=4.08, CI: 1.36-12.21) were also predictors of moderate/high levels of depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that food insecurity, self-perceived health, and the presence of physical symptoms (i.e. heartburn) during pregnancy are important factors for clinicians to measure when evaluating depression risk among low-income pregnant Latinas. Funded by the Connecticut NIH EXPORT Center for Eliminating Health Disparities among Latinos(NIH-NCMHD Grant # P20MD0017650).