Antepartum depressive and anxious symptoms: Association with physiological parameters of the newborn. (13th April 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pereira, D.; Pereira, A.T.; Azevedo, J.; Xavier, S.; Soares, M.J.; Madeira, N.; Macedo, A.
• Is Part Of: European psychiatry. Volume 64:Supplement 1(2021)
• Page Start: S180
• Page End: S181
• Publication Date: 2021-04-13
• Subjects: Anxiety -- Depression -- perinatal -- Psychological disorders; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Mental illness -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 616.89
• DOI: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.478
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0924-9338

Abstract

Abstract : Introduction: The Perinatal period is a time of vulnerability for developing psychiatric disorders of higher prevalence in the female gender - depression and anxiety 1 . Numerous authors have proposed that maternal psychological factors could influence pregnancy course and the well-being of mother and newborn 2 . Objectives: To explore the relationship between perinatal psychological disorder and physiological parameters evaluated at birth, such as the Apgar Index (AI; 1, 5 and 10 minutes), head circumference, weight, length and age. Methods: 533 women answered, in the second trimester of pregnancy (16.98±4.83 weeks of gestation), several questions about psychosocial variables, the Perinatal Depression Screening Scale 3 and the Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale 4 . Of these, 208 (39.0%) women were interviewed with the Diagnostic Interview for Psychological Distress 5 . Newborn physiological parameters were obtained from electronic health records. Results: AI was significantly (p<.01) and moderately (r≈.25) correlated with maternal anxious symptomatology, and with the experience of a stressful event in the last year (only AI 1 minute). Newborns of women with clinically relevant anxious symptomatology (>cutoff point, 14.6%) had significantly lower AI (p<.05), which was also observed in newborns of women who considered having had a stressful event (only AI 1 minute). Women's newborns with maternal anxiety disorders during pregnancy (5.3%), had significantly lower values in AI, head circumference, weight and age of birth. Regression analyses showed that anxiety in pregnancy (symptoms and/or diagnoses) is a predictor of newborn physiological parameters, explaining significant percentages(r≈22%; p<.05) of its variability. Conclusions: Early detection of psychological disorders in pregnancy, namely anxiety, is determinant to prevent adverse neonatal outcomes. Disclosure: No significant relationships.