Return to search

Depression during the perinatal period: rurality, opioids and neurodevelopment

Depression during the perinatal time period is the most common medical condition related to pregnancy and childbirth. Based on previous research, this condition can have negative sequelae for mothers, their offspring, families and the community. Therefore, studies are needed to better understand risk factors and health outcomes among women with depression and the health outcomes among children born to mothers with depression.
We examined rurality as a risk factor for depression during the perinatal time period using data from the 2016 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring Survey (aim one). We found women who resided in rural communities, as defined by their individual states, had an increase in the odds of depression during the perinatal period by 21% (OR: 1.21; 95% CI 1.05,1.41) when compared to women who resided in urban communities. Based on the results from this study, future studies are warranted to examine mediators of this relationship to develop effective public health and clinical interventions.
Next, we examined the association between perinatal mental health conditions and postpartum prescription opioid use using private insurance claims data of women who delivered a baby in the state of Iowa 2005 to 2016 (aim two). Overall 38.63% of the women in our study filled at least one opioid prescription and 5.88% filled at least two prescriptions in the first 90 days postpartum. A significant interaction of having a perinatal mental health condition and delivery mode was observed for at least one (p=.04) and at least two opioid fills (<.0001). The presence of a mental health condition among women who delivered vaginally increased their odds of filling at least one opioid fill by nearly 50% (OR: 1.48 95% CI 1.35, 1.63) and by almost 20% (OR: 1.19 95% CI: 1.00, 1.43) among women with a cesarean delivery. A mental health condition significantly increased the odds of filling at least two opioid prescriptions among women with a vaginal or cesarean delivery by 2.78 (95% CI: 2.32-3.33) and 1.66 (95% CI: 1.40,1.98). Based on findings from this study, more research is needed to improve our understanding of the relationship between perinatal mental health and prescription opioid use.
Finally, the association between perinatal depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) use was examined using private insurance claims data from mother-child pairs from the state of Iowa (aim three). Children were born during years 2004 through 2015. In our study children born to mothers with perinatal depression were at an increased odds of ADHD diagnosis by 170% (OR: 2.70; 95% CI 2.06, 3.55). We also evaluated how timing of depression (during pregnancy vs. postpartum) influenced the odds of ADHD diagnosis. While we found children born to mothers with depression during pregnancy and postpartum had an increased risk of ADHD diagnosis, we observed children exposed to depression during fetal development had the greatest risk overall. Research is needed to better understand the mechanisms of risk between perinatal depression and ADHD risk in offspring. Additionally, due to low power we were not able to evaluate how treatment of depression during pregnancy or postpartum may influence childhood outcomes, therefore more studies are needed in this area.
Overall, findings from each study illustrate the importance of maternal mental health and how a mental health condition during the perinatal period can influence maternal and child health outcomes. Future prospective population-based studies are needed to better understand the etiologies of perinatal mental health conditions and how such conditions can influence outcomes for maternal and child health. Results from future studies have the potential to shift clinical practice to improve prevention and intervention in turn improving overall maternal and child health outcomes.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:uiowa.edu/oai:ir.uiowa.edu:etd-8502
Date01 January 2019
CreatorsNidey, Nichole Lynn
ContributorsRyckman, Kelli
PublisherUniversity of Iowa
Source SetsUniversity of Iowa
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typedissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceTheses and Dissertations
RightsCopyright © 2019 Nichole Lynn Nidey

Page generated in 0.0343 seconds