Low Consumption of Vegetables Is Associated with Postpartum Depression: A Cross Section Study

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Postpartum depression (PPD) is a critical public health concern, giving negative effects on women health and child development. Recently, diet quality has emerged as a possible preventative measure in ameliorating PPD, however the evidence-base exploring this association is immature. The aim of this study was to examine the association between consumption of food groups and depression of postpartum women within 2 years. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 554 postpartum women who set up files after delivery within 2 years at 10 community health service centers in Beijing from July to September 2017. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale(EPDS) and a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) were used to measure the status of depression and the consumption of food groups. The association of certain food groups with PPD were estimated by logistic regression. Results A total of 163 women (29.4%) were depressed above the EPDS cut-off score (≥13 scores). Lower consumption of vegetables and fruits were found in 59.0% and 63.5% of postpartum women separately. Meanwhile, higher consumption of meat and eggs were found in 68.6% and 63.4% of postpartum women separately. After statistical adjustment for age and society correlation factors, low consumption of vegetables (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.16–3.38) was significantly associated with PPD. Conclusions Low consumption of vegetables was associated with PPD. Funding Sources This study was funded by grants from Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences.