Psychological state during pregnancy is associated with sleep quality: preliminary findings from MY-CARE cohort study

Ai Ni Teoh; Satvinder Kaur; Nurul Husna Mohd Shukri; Siti Raihanah Shafie; Normina Ahmad Bustami; Masaki Takahashi; Pei Jean Lim; Shigenobu Shibata

doi:10.1080/07420528.2021.1902338

Psychological state during pregnancy is associated with sleep quality: preliminary findings from MY-CARE cohort study

Chronobiol Int. 2021 Jul;38(7):959-970. doi: 10.1080/07420528.2021.1902338. Epub 2021 Mar 28.

Authors

Ai Ni Teoh¹, Satvinder Kaur¹, Nurul Husna Mohd Shukri², Siti Raihanah Shafie², Normina Ahmad Bustami³, Masaki Takahashi⁴, Pei Jean Lim⁵, Shigenobu Shibata⁶

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
² Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan, Malaysia.
³ School of Healthy Aging, Medical Aesthetics and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
⁴ Institute for Liberal Arts, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Waseda Bioscience Research Institute in Singapore, Waseda University, Helios, Singapore.
⁶ Department of Electrical Engineering and Biosciences, School of Advanced Engineering and Sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.

PMID: 33779445
DOI: 10.1080/07420528.2021.1902338

Abstract

Psychological distress during pregnancy may increase the risk of adverse maternal and infant outcomes. Past studies have demonstrated the association between circadian disturbances with psychological health. However, the roles of chronotype and social jetlag on psychological state during pregnancy are yet to be identified. We aimed to examine the psychological state in pregnant women and its relations to chronotype, social jetlag (SJL), sleep quality and cortisol rhythm. The current study included a subsample of participants from an ongoing cohort study. A total of 179 primigravidas (mean age 28.4 ± 4.0 years) were recruited. Chronotype and sleep quality during the second trimester were assessed using the Morning-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), respectively. SJL was calculated based on the difference between mid-sleep on workdays and free days. Psychological state of participants was evaluated using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Subsamples (n = 70) provided salivary samples at 5 time points over a 24 h period during the second trimester for cortisol assay. A higher proportion of pregnant women experienced moderate to severe anxiety symptoms (n = 77, 43.0%), followed by depressive (n = 17, 9.5%) and stress (n = 14, 7.8%) symptoms. No association was observed between chronotype and psychological distress during pregnancy. There was no significant difference in cortisol rhythms in relation to psychological distress. SJL and sleep quality were significantly associated with stress symptoms among pregnant women in the second trimester. Poor sleep quality, particularly daytime dysfunction (β = 0.37, p = .006) and sleep disturbances (β = 0.23, p = .047), were significantly associated with psychological distress (depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms) during the second trimester. The findings suggest that sleep is a potential modifiable lifestyle factor that can be targeted to improve psychological health among pregnant women.

Keywords: Sleep; chronotype; cortisol rhythm; mental health; pregnancy; social jetlag.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Circadian Rhythm*
Cohort Studies
Female
Humans
Jet Lag Syndrome
Pregnancy
Sleep
Sleep Wake Disorders*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult