Mental health outcomes beyond the post-partum period among adolescent mothers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Komal Abdul Rahim; Natasha J Egglestone; Irakli G Tsagareli; Wania Usmani; Salima Meherali; Zohra S Lassi

doi:10.1080/21642850.2024.2305741

Mental health outcomes beyond the post-partum period among adolescent mothers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Health Psychol Behav Med. 2024 Jan 31;12(1):2305741. doi: 10.1080/21642850.2024.2305741. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Komal Abdul Rahim^{1

2

3}, Natasha J Egglestone⁴, Irakli G Tsagareli⁴, Wania Usmani⁵, Salima Meherali⁶, Zohra S Lassi^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Internal Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
² Dean's Office, Medical College, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
³ Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
⁴ Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
⁵ Public Health Information Development Unit, Torrens University Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
⁶ Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
⁷ Adelaide Medical School, Robinsons Research Institute University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
⁸ Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is the most crucial part of life. The vulnerability of adolescent mothers is even more pronounced and can affect various health aspects. While they suffer from social and emotional stresses shortly after giving birth, the long-term effect after the post-partum period of adolescent pregnancy on the mental outcomes holds prime importance. Thus, this systematic review aims to ascertain the association between adolescent pregnancy on mental health outcomes.

Methods: The search strategy was run in June 2023 on databases including PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Psych Info, and Embase . Quality assessment of the studies was done using the National Institute of Health (NIH)'s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) tool for observational studies. For studies that measured similar outcomes, a meta-analysis was conducted.

Findings: The search strategy yielded 21 results from all databases and cross-referencing. Of these, all except for one (case-control) were cross-sectional and cohort studies. The pooled analysis found a significant association between adolescent pregnancy and depression (RR 1.34; 95% CI 1.05, 1.72, 6 studies, heterogeneity: Chi² P 0.01; I² = 60%); however, no association was found in anxiety (RR 1.05; 95% CI 0.26, 4.14, 2 studies; heterogeneity: Chi² P = 0.0003; I² = 93%) and suicidal ideation (RR 3.21; 95% CI 0.17, 59.33; 3 studies; heterogeneity: Chi² P < 0.00001; I² = 98%).

Implication: These findings suggest that the mental health needs of adolescent mothers must be addressed and innovative and effective interventions that support and address the mental health needs of adolescent mothers are needed to improve their mental health.

Keywords: Adolescent; depression; mental health; post-partum; teenage pregnancy.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Career Development Award (ZSL) from the Robinson Research Institute of the University of Adelaide. This work was also supported by the student research placement funds provided by the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences of the University of Adelaide (NJE, IGT). The corresponding author is on NHMRC Emerging Leader Fellowship funding (Grant # 2009730) (ZSL).