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To examine the association between maternal depressive symptoms during early childhood of their offspring and later overweight in the children. Only children (n = 1,090) whose weights and heights were measured at least once for three time points (grades one, three and six) from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study were included. Maternal depressive symptoms, defined as a Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) score of 16 or greater, were assessed using CES-D when the child was 1, 24, and 36 months. Childhood overweight was based on standardized height and weight measures taken during the interviews, and was defined according to appropriate CDC age- and sex-specific BMI percentiles. Generalized estimating equation was used to examine the impact of maternal depressive symptoms on the childhood overweight after adjusting for covariates. Compared to children of mothers without depression at any of the three time points, when children were one, 24 and 36 months of age, children of mothers with depression at all three time points were 1.695 times more likely to be overweight after adjusting for other child characteristics (95 % CI = 1.001–2.869). When further adjusted for maternal characteristics, children of mothers with depression at all three time points were 2.13 times more likely to be overweight (95 % CI = 1.05–4.31). Persistent maternal depressive symptoms may be associated with an increased risk of childhood overweight in their offspring. Children of mothers with depression may benefit from special attention in terms of obesity prevention.

Early childhood malnutrition is a global public health problem with serious short- and long-term consequences. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the effects of psychosocial stimulation (PS) with or without food supplementation (FS) on growth and development of severely malnourished children, quality of home environment, mother’s child-rearing practices and depressive symptoms. The study setting was Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the participants were severely malnourished children, aged 6-24 months, admitted at Dhaka Hospital of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B). A hospital-based study was conducted in Nutrition Rehabilitation Unit of ICDDR,B hospital, where a control group (n=43) was studied initially, followed by an intervention group (n=54). All received standard nutrition rehabilitation care. The intervention group received daily group meetings and play sessions in the hospital, and was thereafter visited at home for 6 months. A community-based randomised trial was conducted including children (n=507) admitted at hospital for initial treatment of an acute infection, and thereafter assigned to PS, FS, PS+FS, clinic control or hospital control groups. PS was delivered at follow-up visits, fortnightly for 6 months at community clinics. FS included distribution of cereal-based food packets (150–300 kcal/day depending on age) for 3 months. All groups received standard medical care and micronutrient supplementation. In the hospital-based study, the intervention group had significantly higher scores in mental (p<0.001, effect size 0.52 SD) and motor development (p=0.047, effect size 0.37 SD), and weight (p=0.03, effect size 0.39 SD), after 6- months intervention. In the community-based trial, there was a significant effect of stimulation after six months of intervention on children’s mental development (group*session interaction p=0.037, effect size=0.37 SD) and weight (group*session interaction p=0.02, effect size=0.26 SD) but no effect on motor development or linear growth. The PS+FS and PS groups differed in total HOME score, two HOME subscales (maternal involvement and play materials), and in mother’s child- rearing practices scores but not in depressive symptoms. PS with or without FS had small improvement on children’s growth and development, quality of home environment and mother’s rearing-practices of severely malnourished children. More intensive interventions with longer duration are therefore recommended.

This study investigated whether ethnic identity, financial and educational resources, and social support predicted levels and trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms above and beyond racial and ethnic categories. A sample of Black, Latina, and White working class mothers were interviewed at five time points during the first year of parenthood. Findings indicated that Latina mothers experienced significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms compared to Black mothers at the final time point. There was a significant interaction between race and ethnic identity in predicting symptoms such that Latino mothers saw an increase in the growth rate of symptoms compared to White mothers. Perceived social support from family was associated lower levels of symptoms at Time 5. Additionally, occupational prestige moderated the relationship between race and depressive symptoms. Compared to Latina mothers, Black mothers with high occupational prestige experienced a significant decline in depressive symptoms across the first year of parenthood and this change occurred more rapidly than for Latina mothers. There was also a trend for the interaction between ethnic identity and education predicting maternal depressive symptoms Mothers with high ethnic identity and more education experienced a rapid decline in depressive symptoms across the transition to parenthood compared other mothers. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the unique experiences of people of different racial and ethnic groups.

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No description available.