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21/01/2016

Depression In Pregnancy Linked To Premature Birth – Study

A new study has discovered a link between parental depression and premature birth.

The research has been published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.

It looked at more than 350,000 births in Sweden between the years of 2007 and 2012 for parental depression and cases of very preterm birth, or moderately preterm birth.

For men and women, depression was defined as having had a prescription of antidepressant medication, or receiving outpatient/inpatient hospital care, from 12 months before conception to the end of the second trimester of pregnancy.

The study found that 'new depression'; that is, where a person has had no depression in the 12 months prior to diagnosis, and 'recurrent depression' in mothers was linked to a higher risk of moderately preterm birth of between 30% to 40%. This was defined as preterm birth of 32 to 36 weeks.

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In fathers, new depression was associated with a 38% increased risk of very preterm birth – between 22 and 31 weeks – however, recurrent depression was not associated with preterm birth.

Commenting on the findings, Professor Anders Hjern, from the Centre for Health Equity Studies in Stockholm (CHESS), said that depression of a partner could be considered "a substantial source of stress for an expectant mother", and therefore could result in the increased risk of very preterm birth, as seen in the study.

He added: "Paternal depression is also known to affect sperm quality, have epigenetic effects on the DNA of the baby, and can also affect placenta function. However, this risk seems to be reduced for recurrent paternal depression, indicating that perhaps treatment for the depression reduces the risk of preterm birth.

"Our results suggest that both maternal and paternal depression should be considered in preterm birth prevention strategies and both parents should be screened for mental health problems. Since men are less likely to seek professional help for any mental health problems, a proactive approach towards targeting the wellbeing of expectant fathers may be beneficial."

The study can be viewed here.

(JP)

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"A new study has discovered a link between parental depression and premature birth."