141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

285593
Postpartum maternal depressive symptoms and weight gain in the first 18 months of life in the mother-child cohort in crete (Rhea study), Greece

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Maria Vassilaki, MD, MPH, PhD , Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Leda Chatzi, MD, PhD , Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Vaggelis Georgiou, MS , Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Alexandros Xyrafas, MS , Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Theano Roumeliotaki, MPH , Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Emmanouil Bagkeris, MS , UCL, Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
Katerina Koutra, MSc, PhD candidate , Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Panos Bitsios, MD, PhD , Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Antonis Koutis, MD, PhD , Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Manolis Kogevinas, MD, PhD , Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain
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.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology

Learning Objectives:
Assess whether postpartum maternal depressive symptoms are associated with weight gain in the first 18 months of child’s life.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an epidemiologist and lecturer elect in Social Medicine (Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Greece) and have been one of the coordinators in the Mother-Child cohort (Rhea study) in Crete, Greece for the last 2 years. Among my scientific interests have been maternal health and its effects on infant/child health and development.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.