Sleep quality, antepartum depression and self-harm thoughts in pregnant Chinese women

Wuxian Zhong; Ai Zhao; Hanglian Lan; Zhongxia Ren; Shuai Mao; Jian Zhang; Pin Li; Ignatius Man-Yau Szeto; Peiyu Wang; Yumei Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2023.01.127

Sleep quality, antepartum depression and self-harm thoughts in pregnant Chinese women

J Affect Disord. 2023 Apr 14:327:292-298. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.01.127. Epub 2023 Feb 7.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China.
² Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
³ Inner Mongolia Dairy Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., Hohhot 010110, China; Yili Maternal and Infant Nutrition Institute, Beijing 100071, China.
⁴ Department of Social Medicine and Health Education, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China.
⁵ Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China. Electronic address: zhangyumei@bjmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36754093
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.01.127

Abstract

Background: Previous literature has shown a significant association between sleep and depression, whereas limited studies have examined the association of sleep quality with self-harm ideation in pregnant Chinese women.

Methods: A total of 898 pregnant women (first to third trimester) from the Young Investigation Study were enrolled in this study. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire was used to assess sleep quality. Antepartum depression and self-harm ideation were evaluated using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs).

Results: In this sample, the prevalence of poor sleep quality and antepartum depression was 44.3 % and 24.4 %, respectively. Furthermore, 12.8 % of women were considered as having self-harm ideation. Individuals in different trimesters reported similar prevalence of self-harm thoughts. Women were more likely to report self-harm thoughts if they were categorized as poor sleep quality or antepartum depression. And women with moderate or severe depression had higher risk of self-harm ideation and poor sleep, compared with those with mild depression. Although sleep quality indirectly influenced self-harm thoughts through the mediation effect of depressive symptoms, poor sleep quality was still associated with a 2.62-fold increased odds of self-harm ideation among women in the second trimester (OR = 2.62; 95 % CI: 1.11-6.21), after adjustment for depression.

Limitations: Causality cannot be inferred. Results should be generalized carefully. Depression was evaluated by a screening tool rather than clinical interviews.

Conclusions: The prevalence of poor sleep quality, depressive symptoms and self-harm ideation in pregnant Chinese women were noteworthy and high. Besides, a direct effect was also found between sleep quality and self-harm thoughts among women in the second trimester. Our findings suggest the need to identify and intervene when sleep disturbances are observed in women during pregnancy.

Keywords: Depression; Pregnancy; Self-harm; Sleep quality.

MeSH terms

Depression* / epidemiology
East Asian People
Female
Humans
Pregnancy
Pregnant Women* / psychology
Self-Injurious Behavior* / epidemiology
Sleep
Sleep Quality*