Postpartum maternal depressive symptoms and weight gain in the first 18 months of life in the mother-child cohort in crete (Rhea study), Greece

Objective: To explore whether postpartum maternal depressive symptoms are associated with weight gain in the first 18 months of life. Materials/methods: 831 women with singleton pregnancies and their children with information on maternal depressive symptoms and infant weight for at least one follow-up period up to 18 months postpartum were included in the study (ranging from 498 pairs at 3 months to 181 pairs at 18 months). Women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 8–10 weeks postpartum. Change in weight-for-age z scores (WFA-z) was assessed from birth to 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months postpartum. Rapid weight gain was defined as a change in WFA-z > 0.67. GLM (linear and poisson log-linear) models were used after adjustment for confounders. Results: High EPDS levels (EPDS≥13) were reported by 105 women (12.6 %). After adjusting for confounders, high EPDS levels were associated with slower gain in WFA-z from 0 to 12 (b=-0.78 [95%confidence interval, -1.31, -0.243] (compared with EPDS<13) and 0 to 18 months (b=-0.64 [95%confidence interval, -1.11, -0.18]) of age. EPDS score was associated with decreased risk for rapid weight gain at 12 (Relative Risk per unit increase in EPDS, RRper_unit_increase =0.95, 95% CI: 0.92, 0.98) and 18 months (RRper_unit_increase =0.96, 95% CI: 0.93, 0.98) postpartum. Conclusion: Higher maternal EPDS levels were associated with slower weight gain from birth to 12 and 18 months of life, although the effect on estimates of uncontrolled confounding and chance findings, as multiple time intervals were investigated, cannot be excluded.