Maternal diet, depression and antidepressant treatment in pregnancy and across the first 12 months postpartum in the MPEWS pregnancy cohort study

• Published in: Journal of affective disorders 2021-06, Vol.288, p.74-82
• Main Authors: Galbally, Megan, Watson, Stuart J, Boyce, Philip, Anglin, Rebecca, McKinnon, Elizabeth, Lewis, Andrew J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antidepressants; Depression; Diet; Pregnancy
• ISSN: 0165-0327; 1573-2517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.03.047

•There is interest in what role diet might have in depression over perinatal period with conflicting findings to date.•Pregnant women had a pattern of diet consistent with higher fruit and vegetable intake in late pregnancy that declined over the 12 months postpartum, and the converse for takeaway food intake.•Women with untreated depression did have a steeper increase in monthly takeaway intake compared to either women treated with antidepressant medication or control women. There is increasing interest in the association between perinatal depression and diet including whether diet may have an impact on depressive symptoms and equally whether depression influences diet. Furthermore, whether pharmacological treatment of depression with antidepressant medication also may influence diet. We examine diet, perinatal depression, and antidepressant use in 442 women recruited in early pregnancy and followed until 12 months postpartum as part of the Mercy Pregnancy Emotional Wellbeing Study. Measures included Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM at recruitment in early pregnancy and comprehensive dietary intake questions, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and self-report and recorded antidepressant use at third trimester and 6 and 12 months postpartum. This study found that those women with untreated, current depression in pregnancy had higher unhealthy takeaway food intake across the perinatal period compared to those taking antidepressant medication or healthy control women, albeit the overall effects were small and the clinical significance unknown. Higher depressive symptoms in the postpartum were also associated with higher takeaway intake. There was no difference in fruit and vegetable intake between the three groups and intake was highest for all women late in pregnancy and declined in the postpartum period. In all, women's takeaway food intake increased from pregnancy across the postpartum. Lack of information on pre-pregnancy diet. Unhealthy takeaway intake was found to be associated with depression; however, for those women who took antidepressant treatment, their diet patterns were similar to healthy controls. Future research should examine the relationship of treatments for depression in addition to depression and associated dietary behaviours.