AUTHOR=Kubota Chika , Inada Toshiya , Shiino Tomoko , Ando Masahiko , Aleksic Branko , Yamauchi Aya , Sato Maya , Ohara Masako , Murase Satomi , Morikawa Mako , Nakamura Yukako , Okada Takashi , Goto Setsuko , Kanai Atsuko , Ozaki Norio 

TITLE=Relation Between Perinatal Depressive Symptoms, Harm Avoidance, and a History of Major Depressive Disorder: A Cohort Study of Pregnant Women in Japan

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00515

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00515

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Introduction:</bold> The relationship between perinatal depressive symptoms, harm avoidance (HA), and a history of major depressive disorder (MDD) was examined in a prospective cohort study.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> This study was conducted from May 1, 2011, to December 31, 2016. A history of MDD was evaluated using the Inventory to Diagnose Depression, Lifetime version during pregnancy. Depressive state and HA were evaluated during pregnancy and at 1 month postnatal using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Temperament and Character Inventory, respectively. The relationship between these variances was examined using structural equation modeling.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> A total of 338 participants with complete data were included in the present study. Pregnant women with compared with those without a history of MDD were observed to have a significantly higher intensity of HA and more severe depressive symptoms in both the prenatal and postnatal periods. A history of MDD affected the severity of depressive symptoms [standardized path coefficient (SPC) = 0.25, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001] and the intensity of HA during pregnancy (SPC = 0.36, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). The intensity of HA during pregnancy affected that at 1 month postnatal (SPC = 0.78, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), while the severity of depressive symptoms as assessed by the EPDS during pregnancy affected that at 1 month postnatal (SPC = 0.41, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). The SPC for perinatal HA to postnatal depressive symptoms (SPC = 0.13, <italic>p</italic> = 0.014) was significant and higher than that for perinatal depressive symptoms to postnatal HA (SPC = 0.06, <italic>p</italic> = 0.087).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> The present results suggest that early intervention in pregnant women with a history of MDD or a high intensity of HA is important to prevent postnatal depressive symptoms.</p>