Dietary intake of fish and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and risk of postpartum depression: a nationwide longitudinal study - the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS).

Kei Hamazaki,Mika Ito,Hidekuni Inadera,Akiko Tsuchida,Haruka Kasamatsu,Tomomi Tanaka,Kenta Matsumura

doi:10.1017/s0033291719002587

Kei Hamazaki, Mika Ito + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291719002587

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Journal: Psychological medicine	Publication Date: Sep 19, 2019
Citations: 19	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Toyama

Abstract

Pregnant women require increased levels of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) due to the demands of the growing fetus. Although some evidence indicates that maternal intake of fish and n-3 PUFAs is associated with reduced risk of postpartum depression, the results are inconsistent. We investigated whether dietary consumption of fish and/or n-3 PUFAs during pregnancy is associated with a reduced risk of maternal postpartum depression at 6 months after delivery and of serious mental illness at 1 year in a Japanese population. After exclusion and multiple imputation from a dataset comprising 103 062 pregnancies obtained in the Japan Environment and Children's Study, we evaluated 84 181 and 81 924 women at 6 months and 1 year after delivery, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression showed a reduced risk of postpartum depression at 6 months in the second to fifth quintiles v. the lowest quintile for fish and n-3 PUFA intake, with trend tests also revealing a significant linear association. At 1 year after delivery, fish intake was associated with a reduced risk of serious mental illness in the second to fifth quintiles v. the lowest quintile for fish and in the third to fifth quintiles v. the lowest quintile for n-3 PUFA intake, with trend tests also revealing a significant linear association. Women with higher fish and/or n-3 PUFA intake showed reduced risk of postpartum depression at 6 months after delivery and of serious mental illness at 1 year after delivery.

Highlights

In an ecological study conducted in 22 countries, Hibbeln (2002) was the first to show a negative association between fish consumption and the prevalence of postnatal depression
The results are still inconsistent, a meta-analysis investigating the effect of n-3 fatty acids as monotherapy for acute major depressive disorders in pregnant women (Wei-Hong et al, 2017) found that n-3 fatty acids were more efficacious than placebo
In the present study, we extended the period of postpartum depression to 6 months and that of serious mental illness to 1 year to more comprehensively determine if these conditions are related to fish and/or n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) intake

Summary

Introduction

In an ecological study conducted in 22 countries, Hibbeln (2002) was the first to show a negative association between fish consumption and the prevalence of postnatal depression. Some evidence indicates that maternal intake of fish and n-3 PUFAs is associated with reduced risk of postpartum depression, the results are inconsistent. We investigated whether dietary consumption of fish and/or n-3 PUFAs during pregnancy is associated with a reduced risk of maternal postpartum depression at 6 months after delivery and of serious mental illness at 1 year in a Japanese population. At 1 year after delivery, fish intake was associated with a reduced risk of serious mental illness in the second to fifth quintiles v. Women with higher fish and/or n-3 PUFA intake showed reduced risk of postpartum depression at 6 months after delivery and of serious mental illness at 1 year after delivery

Methods

Results

Conclusion