Prospective Associations between Maternal Depressive Symptoms during Early Infancy and Growth Deficiency from Childhood to Adolescence

Linda S. Pagani (), Kianoush Harandian, Beatrice Necsa and Marie-Josée Harbec
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Linda S. Pagani: School of Psycho-Education, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
Kianoush Harandian: School of Psycho-Education, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
Beatrice Necsa: School of Psycho-Education, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
Marie-Josée Harbec: Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec, Montreal, QC H2P 1E2, Canada

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 23, 1-13

Abstract: Maternal health represents an important predictor of child development; yet it often goes unnoticed during pediatric visits. Previous work suggests that mental state affects parenting. The relationship between infant exposure to maternal depressive symptoms suggests conflicting findings on physical growth. Body mass index (BMI) has not been rigorously examined across development. Using a prospective-longitudinal birth cohort of 2120 infants (50.7% boys), we estimated the prospective relationship between symptoms of maternal depressive symptoms at 5 months postpartum and later BMI in typically developing children. We hypothesized that maternal depressive symptom severity would predict later BMI through to adolescence. Mothers self-reported depressive symptoms at 5 months. Child BMI was measured by a trained research assistant at ages 6, 8, 10, 13, and 15 years. We estimated a series of sex-stratified regressions in which BMI was linearly regressed on maternal symptoms, while controlling for potential pre-existing/concurrent individual and family confounding factors. Boys born to mothers with more severe depressive symptoms at age 5 months had a significantly lower BMI than other boys at subsequent ages. There were no such associations observed for girls. Maternal depressive symptoms were prospectively associated with later BMI for sons and not daughters, predicting risk of faltering in growth through to adolescence. Health practitioners should routinely assess maternal psychological functioning during pediatric visits to optimize parent and child flourishment.

Keywords: maternal depressive symptoms; child development; depression; child BMI (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:23:p:7117-:d:1289018

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