Impact of maternal depressive symptoms on growth of preschool- and school-aged children

• Published in: Pediatrics (Evanston) 2012-10, Vol.130 (4), p.e847-e855
• Main Authors: Surkan, Pamela J, Ettinger, Anna K, Ahmed, Saifuddin, Minkovitz, Cynthia S, Strobino, Donna
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Analysis; Body Height; Body Weight; Care and treatment; Causes of; Child; Child development; Child, Preschool; Cohort Studies; Confidence; Depression - complications; Diagnosis; Epidemiology; Female; Growth Charts; Growth Disorders - etiology; Humans; Logistic Models; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Maternal & child health; Maternal Behavior; Mental depression; Mother and child; Mother-child relations; Multivariate Analysis; Odds Ratio; Pediatrics; Physical growth; Postpartum depression; Prevention; Psychological Tests; Regression analysis; Severity of Illness Index; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0031-4005; 1098-4275
• DOI: 10.1542/peds.2011-2118

The aim of our study was to examine whether maternal depressive symptoms at 9 months postpartum adversely affect growth in preschool- and school-aged children. We used data from the US nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort. We fit multivariable logistic regression models to study maternal depressive symptoms at 9 months postpartum (using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale) in relation to child growth outcomes, ≤ 10% height-for-age, ≤ 10% weight-for-height, and ≤ 10% weight-for-age at 4 and 5 years. At 9 months, 24% of mothers reported mild depressive symptoms and 17% moderate/severe symptoms. After adjustment for household, maternal, and child factors, children of mothers with moderate to severe levels of depressive symptoms at 9 months' postpartum had a 40% increased odds of being ≤ 10% in height-for-age at age 4 (odds ratio = 1.40, 95% confidence interval: 1.04-1.89) and 48% increased odds of being ≤ 10% in height-for-age at age 5 (odds ratio = 1.48, 95% confidence interval: 1.03-2.13) compared with children of women with few or no depressive symptoms. There was no statistically significant association between maternal depressive symptoms and children being ≤ 1 0% in weight-for-height and weight-for-age at 4 or 5 years. Maternal depressive symptoms during infancy may affect physical growth in early childhood. Prevention, early detection, and treatment of maternal depressive symptoms during the first year postpartum may prevent childhood height-for-age ≤ 10th percentile among preschool- and school-aged children.