Impact of closed-off management due to COVID-19 rebound on maternal depression during pregnancy

Journal article

Abstract Background This study aimed to assess the impacts of closed-off measures with different strictness levels (lockdown, partial lockdown and non-lockdown) and geographic proximity to patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on prenatal depression during an epidemic rebound of COVID-19. Methods This was a cross-sectional web-based survey including 880 pregnant women. Depressive symptoms were measured by Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and geographic proximity was calculated using Geographic Information Systems. Linear and logistic regression were used to assess the associations of closed-off measures and geographic proximity with SDS scores and depressive symptoms. Restricted cubic splines were used to model non-linear associations between geographic proximity and depression symptoms. Results Compared with those living in non-lockdown areas, women in lockdown areas had higher SDS scores (adjusted β: 3.51, 95% CI: 1.80, 5.21) and greater risk of depressive symptoms (adjusted OR: 4.00, 95% CI: 2.18, 7.35), but evidence for partial lockdown was not obvious. A progressive increase in the risk of depressive symptoms was found with decreasing distance to COVID-19 patients when geographic proximity was <8 kilometers. Compared to those in the 5th quintile of geographic proximity, women in the first, second and third quintiles had at least 6 times higher risk of depressive symptoms. Conclusions Pregnant women under strict closed-off management during COVID-19 epidemic have high risk of depression. A specific range around the residences of reported COVID-19 patients should be underlined as potential clustering of high prenatal depression levels. Our findings highlight the importance of enhancing mental health management during the COVID-19 epidemic for pregnant women

Authors: Xiao, W; Yang, Y; Xiao, H; Huang, P; Wei, D

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: BioMed Central
• Journal: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 88-88
• Publication date: 2024-12-01
• DOI: 10.1186/s12884-024-06285-6
• EISSN: 1471-2393
• ISSN: 1471-2393
• Language: English
• Keywords: Cross-sectional study; Pregnancy; Medicine; Logistic regression; Reproductive medicine; Demography; Disease; Young adult; Internal medicine; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Depression (economics)