Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Attained Size Among Children in the First 2 Years of Life

Donna M Strobino; Saifuddin Ahmed; Kamila Mistry; Ellen Wasserman; Mian B Hossain; Cynthia Minkovitz

doi:10.1016/j.acap.2015.10.003

Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Attained Size Among Children in the First 2 Years of Life

Acad Pediatr. 2016 Jan-Feb;16(1):75-81. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2015.10.003. Epub 2015 Oct 20.

Authors

Donna M Strobino¹, Saifuddin Ahmed², Kamila Mistry³, Ellen Wasserman⁴, Mian B Hossain⁵, Cynthia Minkovitz²

Affiliations

¹ Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md. Electronic address: dstrobi1@jhu.edu.
² Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md.
³ Office of Extramural Research, Education and Priority Populations, Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, Rockville, Md.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Children's Center, Baltimore, Md.
⁵ Department of Public Health Analysis, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Md.

PMID: 26498256
DOI: 10.1016/j.acap.2015.10.003

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the relation of maternal depressive symptoms with attained size and whether it is stronger for young children in low-income families.

Methods: Secondary analysis was performed of longitudinal data from enrollment and parents surveys from the Healthy Steps for Young Children National Evaluation among 4745 children who made at least one visit to a Healthy Steps site. Length and weight data from medical records were converted to z scores and percentiles for length for age and weight for length at 6, 12, and 24 months using 2000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth standards. Analyses evaluated the relation of maternal depressive symptoms at 2 to 4 months using a modified 14-item Center for Epidemiologic Depression Scale with attained size and child, maternal, and family characteristics. Regression models estimated the relation of symptoms with z scores and logistic regression the relation for short stature (below 10th percentile for length for age), adjusted for covariates.

Results: Maternal depressive symptoms were associated with z scores for length for age at 6, 12, and 24 months and short stature at 6 and 24 months for children in low/middle-income families. The z scores at 24 months remained significantly lower for children in low/middle-income families whose mothers reported depressive symptoms, after adjustment for covariates. The odds of short stature were significantly increased at 6 months in the total sample and among low/middle-income families for children whose mothers reported symptoms. Other measures of attained size were not associated with depressive symptoms.

Conclusions: The link between maternal symptoms and young children's risk of short stature reinforces recommendations for increased screening for postpartum depressive symptoms and for clinicians to review growth charts with parents for impaired/unfavorable patterns.

Keywords: depressive symptoms; growth; maternal; young children.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adult
Body Height*
Body Weight*
Child Development*
Child, Preschool
Depression / epidemiology*
Female
Growth Disorders / epidemiology*
Humans
Income / statistics & numerical data*
Infant
Logistic Models
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Mothers / psychology
Mothers / statistics & numerical data*
Poverty
Risk Factors
United States / epidemiology
Young Adult

Grants and funding

R40MC03602-01-0/PHS HHS/United States