Maternal Depression and Childhood Overweight in the CHAMACOS Study of Mexican-American Children

Abstract

Objective Although previous studies have examined the impact of maternal depression on child overweight and obesity, little is known about the relationship in Latino families, who suffer from high risks of depression and obesity. We prospectively investigated the association between depressive symptoms in women with young children and child overweight and obesity (overweight/obesity) at age 7 years among Latino families. Methods Participants included 332 singletons with anthropometric measures obtained at 7 years from the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) study, a birth cohort study. Maternal depression was assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale when the children were 1, 3.5, and 7 years. Overweight and obesity was measured by body mass index (kg/m 2 ) at age 7 years. Results 63 % of women had CES-D scores consistent with depression in at least one of the 3 given assessments. Compared to children whose mothers were never depressed, children whose mothers were depressed at all three assessments had 2.4 times the adjusted odds of overweight/ obesity at age 7 years (95 % CI 1.1-5.6). However, a single positive maternal depression screen was not associated with child overweight/obesity and there was no difference in the odds of overweight/obesity by the age of the child when maternal depression occurred. Conclusion Chronic maternal depression during a child's early life was associated with child overweight/obesity at 7 years. Addressing maternal depression is a critical component of comprehensive obesity prevention and treatment strategies for Latino children.

Effects of parental mental illness on children's physical health: systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The pooled analysis for the effect of parental mental illness and being overweight or obese in childhood included seven studies [50][51][52][53][54][56][57] and 36 309 children. To facilitate pooling, overweight was selected in the meta-analysis.…”

“…The three studies unsuitable for pooling reported equivocal results. 48,49,55 Of the nine studies that examined childhood obesity and its association with maternal depression or anxiety, one small cohort study (n = 160) estimated a positive association, 48 seven were equivocal [49][50][51][52][53][54][55] and one reported a negative effect. 56 Of the three studies that examined duration of maternal depressive disorder, two found an increased risk associated with cumulative exposure to depression, but not of exposure to periodic depression.…”

“…56 Of the three studies that examined duration of maternal depressive disorder, two found an increased risk associated with cumulative exposure to depression, but not of exposure to periodic depression. 51,54 Two large prospective cohort studies, based in The Netherlands and the USA, 52,53 indicated an effect of maternal depression on childhood overweight in their unadjusted analyses, but when adjusted for potential confounders (including maternal/paternal body mass index) this effect disappeared.…”

Maternal depression trajectories from 3 months to 11 years postpartum and offspring body composition in early adolescence

“…Other studies have shown that the longer the exposure period is, the higher the risk will be that the offspring may present excessive weight in childhood and early adolescence (13) . Maternal depressive symptom trajectories have been found to increase the risk of overweight at 3 and 7 years of age among children whose mothers presented depression on at least three occasions after childbirth (43,44) , although no effect has been found at age 4 (45) . Continuously depressed mothers tend to establish unhealthy interactions with their offspring that can negatively affect encouragement of these children's physical activity practices (9) .…”

Maternal Stress, Depressive Symptoms and Body Mass Index of Adolescents: A Prospective Study

“…First, maternal stress may alter mothers' own physical activity, sedentary behavior and dietary intake, which may impact adolescents' behaviors through modelling and household exposure (e.g., less healthy family meals) [31]. Additionally it is known that depressed mothers have di culty providing healthful food choices [32][33][34], and modeling physical activity behaviors relative to non-depressed mothers [11]. There is evidence that changes in maternal feeding styles and patterns due to stress and depression can have a signi cant impact on children's food composition and energy intake by for example preparing convenient but unhealthy meals to help manage time [12,35].…”