Prevalence and relevant factors of anxiety and depression among pregnant women in a cohort study from south-east China

Zhuang

et al. 2020

Preprint

Background COVID-19(Corona Virus Disease 2019) outbreaks around the world and is highly infectious, which may cause people prone to anxiety and depression. Pregnant women, as a particular group, need more attention. The aim of this study is to investigate the mental health status of pregnant women during the outbreak of COVID-19, analyze factors affecting their mental health status, understand their cognition, behavioral responses and provide solution guidance for psychological problems. Methods Using a self-designed questionnaire, self-rated anxiety scale(SAS), self-rated depression scale (SDS), we conducted a web-based survey on 1160 pregnant women during the outbreak of COVID-19. Results Compared with general adults in some regions of China during the outbreak of COVID-19, the scores of SAS and SDS of pregnant women were both significantly higher (P<0.05). The results of multivariate regression analysis unveiled that age, levels of education, and duration of pregnancy were factors influencing pregnant women's psychological status. In terms of psychological problems, compared with pregnant women aged < 30 years old, the risk of psychological problems in pregnant women aged ≥ 30 years old was 0.646 times (95% CI:0.486-0.858). Besides, compared with women with a level of high school or below, those with a junior college degree or above had a poor mental health risk of 0.551 times (95%CI: 0.416-0.731). Compared with women in early pregnancy, women in middle pregnancy and in last pregnancy had a risk of 0.543 times (95% CI:0.398-0.739) and 0.636 times (95% CI: 0.466-0.867) in poor mental health.Conclusions During the outbreak of COVID-19, pregnant women are prone to anxiety or depression, highlighting the necessity of further attention to mental health. It is of great significance to provide on-time psychological counseling and intervention for pregnant women with poor mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Section: Factors In Uencing Pregnant Women's Psychological Statussupporting

confidence: 91%

Psychological Investigation on Pregnant Women during the Outbreak of COVID-19

Zhuang

et al. 2020

Preprint

“…A number of scholars demonstrated that childbirth was a stressor, and all the pregnant women would show various degrees of anxiety or depression symptoms before delivery. In addition, a lower level of education was associated with a higher prevalence of anxiety and depression status, 7 which is consistent with results of the present study. It is likely because people with a higher degree of education have keen self-protection awareness, and they may actively collect relevant information and knowledge of the epidemic in various ways.…”

Section: Factors In Uencing Pregnant Women's Psychological Statussupporting

confidence: 92%

Psychological Investigation on Pregnant Women during the Outbreak of COVID-19

Zhuang

et al. 2020

Preprint

Background COVID-19(Corona Virus Disease 2019) outbreaks around the world and is highly infectious, which may cause people prone to anxiety and depression. As a particular group, pregnant women need more attention. The aim of study is to investigate the mental health status of pregnant women during the outbreak of COVID-19, and analyze factors affecting the mental health status of pregnant women.Methods Using a self-designed questionnaire, self-rated anxiety scale(SAS), self-rated depression scale (SDS), we conducted a web-based survey on 1160 pregnant women during the outbreak of COVID-19.Results Compared with general adults in some regions of China, the scores of SAS and SDS were both significantly higher in pregnant women during the outbreak of COVID-19 (P < 0.05). The results of multivariate regression analysis unveiled that age, levels of education, and duration of pregnancy were all factors influencing pregnant women’s psychological status. In terms of psychological problems, compared with pregnant women aged < 30 years old, the risk of psychological problems in pregnant women aged ≥ 30 years old was 0.646 times (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.486–0.858). Moreover, compared with women with a level of high school or below, the risk of psychological abnormalities in women with a level of junior college degree or above was 0.551 times (95% CI: 0.416–0.731). Compared with women during the first trimester, the risk of psychological problems in women during the mid-trimester was 0.543 times (95% CI: 0.398–0.739). In addition, compared with women during the mid-trimester, the risk of psychological problems in women during the last trimester was 0.636 times (95% CI: 0.466–0.867).Conclusions During the outbreak of COVID-19, pregnant women are prone to anxiety or depression, highlighting the necessity of further attention on those subjects. It is of great significance to provide on-time psychological intervention and psychological counseling for pregnant women with poor mental health.

“…In Zhang's report, the prevalence of pregnancy anxiety increased between the first and second trimester. But in the Zhang study, the prevalence of anxiety was 22.7% in the first trimester of pregnancy [34]. However, the prevalence of anxiety in this study was 2.8%.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 66%

Changes in Prenatal Depression and Anxiety Levels in Low Risk Pregnancy Among Iranian Women: A Prospective Study

Kazemi

Dadkhah

2020

Preprint

Background There is limited information on the changes in uncomplicated pregnancies. Therefore, in the present study, the changes of depression and anxiety changes in uncomplicated pregnancies during the prenatal period was evaluated.Method This longitudinal study was performed on 256 pregnant women at the beginning of the first trimester of pregnancy. Inclusion criteria included the absence of pre-pregnancy depression and anxiety and poor pregnancy history. Exclusion criteria were the incidence of pregnancy complications. The level of their depression and anxiety at the time of entering the study were completed by self-report using the DASS questionnaire at 9–10, 11–12, 24–25, and 33–35 weeks of pregnancy.Results The results of the study indicated the effect of time on the level of perinatal depression and anxiety (p < 0.001). These findings showed that the level of depression increased significantly from 9 to 24 weeks of pregnancy and decreased in the 32–34 weeks, but did not reach the level of depression at 9 weeks of pregnancy. Also, the anxiety level increased significantly from the onset of pregnancy to the 24 weeks gestation but did not change during the second and third trimesters. The findings of the study showed that depression and anxiety levels in each of the pregnancy termites were related to its level in the previous trimesters.Conclusion The results of the study showed that the level of depression and anxiety of women in uncomplicated pregnancies also increases. Therefore, psychological health screenings in the second trimester of pregnancy should be performed in these women.