The prevalence of psychiatric symptoms of pregnant and non-pregnant women during the COVID-19 epidemic

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading worldwide, with a staggering number of cases and deaths. However, available data on the psychological impacts of COVID-19 on pregnant women are limited. The purposes of this study were to assess the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms among pregnant women, and to compare them with non-pregnant women. From February 28 to March 12, 2020, a cross-sectional study of pregnant and non-pregnant women was performed in China. The online questionnaire was used to collect information of participants. The mental health status was assessed by patient health questionnaire, generalized anxiety disorder scale, insomnia severity index, somatization subscale of the symptom checklist 90, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) checklist-5. Totally, 859 respondents were enrolled, including 544 pregnant women and 315 non-pregnant women. In this study, 5.3%, 6.8%, 2.4%, 2.6%, and 0.9% of pregnant women were identified to have symptoms of depression, anxiety, physical discomfort, insomnia, and PTSD, respectively. However, the corresponding prevalence rates among non-pregnant women were 17.5%, 17.5%, 2.5%, 5.4%, 5.7%, respectively. After adjusting for other covariates, we observed that pregnancy was associated a reduced risk of symptoms of depression (OR = 0.23; 95% CI: 0.12–0.45), anxiety (OR = 0.26; 95% CI: 0.16–0.42), insomnia (OR = 0.19; 95% CI: 0.06–0.58), and PTSD (OR = 0.15; 95% CI: 0.04–0.53) during the COVID-19 epidemic. Our results indicate that during the COVID-19 epidemic in China, pregnant women have an advantage of facing mental problems caused by COVID-19, showing fewer depression, anxiety, insomnia, and PTSD symptoms than non-pregnant women.

Psychological effects caused by COVID-19 pandemic on pregnant women: A systematic review with meta-analysis

“… 32.7 %(67) 43.9 %(90) Silverman et al (2020) the United States 485 DPDS EPDS≥9 15.1%(73) N.A. Zhou et al (2020) China 544 PHQ-9 PHQ＞10; GAD-7 ≥ 7 5.3 %(29) 6.8 %(37) GAD-7 Preis et al (2020) the United States 788 GAD-7 GAD-7 ≥ 5 N.A. 78.8 %(621) Ayaz et al (2020) Turkey 63 BAI BAI≥10 N.A.…”

“…In a cohort study, Post-traumatic Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES-II), and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) were also used to evaluate Prenatal distress and psychiatric symptomatology; finally, dissociative symptoms (effect size,ES = 0.2 and 0.25), symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (ES = 0.19), negative emotions (ES = 0.96), and less positive emotions (ES = 0.95) in COVID-19 women were observed to be higher than in the pre−COVID-19 cohort ( Berthelot et al, 2020 ). Insomnia (2.6 %), post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD) (0.9 %), and somatic symptoms (2.5 %) were also reported in a study comparing pregnant women with non-pregnant women ( Zhou et al, 2020 ). Besides, more than half of the pregnant women reported experiencing fear (67.5 %, 59.5 %), apprehensive (57.0 %), and helpless feelings (67.5 %) ( Gu et al, 2020 ; Zhang and Ma, 2020 ).…”

Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms Among People Under Quarantine During the COVID-19 Epidemic in China: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Those who are married reported a higher risk of anxiety symptoms than unmarried individuals, probably because they were more worried about their children and other family members and wanted to return to their families as soon as possible. However, in general, divorced or widowed persons were more likely to experience depressive and anxiety symptoms, while pregnant women showed less depressive and anxiety symptoms ( 31 , 41 ). The participants who worried about being infected tended to experience depressive and anxiety symptoms, which is consistent with general population.…”

Physical Exercise and Economic Burden Associated With Anxiety Symptoms in Pregnant Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…It is believed that the COVID-19 pandemic has profound psychosocial impact on vulnerable populations around the world, including pregnant women (3,4). Pregnancy women are more likely to develop mental health problems than non-pregnant women (5,6). Physiological changes during pregnancy such as a suppressed immune system may contribute to increased susceptibility to viral infection (7,8).…”

“…Physiological changes during pregnancy such as a suppressed immune system may contribute to increased susceptibility to viral infection (7,8). Uncertainty and concerns about risk of COVID-19 infection were found to be important drivers of adverse mental health outcomes (5,6,(9)(10)(11). Pregnant women have a strong tendency to express more concern about the COVID-19 than other infectious diseases during this period of time, and they bear greater psychological pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic than prior to this outbreak (6).…”