title: Maternal common mental disorder and infant growth--a cross-sectional study from Malawi.
abstract: The objective of the study was to investigate the association between maternal common mental disorder (CMD) and infant growth in rural Malawi. A cross-sectional study was conducted at a district hospital child health clinic. Participants were consecutive infants due for measles vaccination, and their mothers. Mean infant weight-for-age and length-for-age z-scores were compared between infants of mothers with and without CMD as measured using the self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ). Of 519 eligible infants/mothers, 501 were included in the analysis. Median infant age was 9.9 months. 29.9% of mothers scored 8 or above on the SRQ indicating CMD. Mean length-for-age z-score for infants of mothers with CMD (-1.50 SD 1.24) was significantly lower than for infants of mothers without CMD (-1.11 SD 1.12) Student's t-test: P = 0.001. This association was confirmed in multivariate analysis. Mean weight-for-age z-score for infants of mothers with CMD (-1.77 SD 1.16) was lower than for infants of mothers without CMD (-1.59 SD 1.09) but this difference was not significant on univariate (Student's t-test: P = 0.097) or multivariate analysis. The study demonstrates an association between maternal CMD and infant growth impairment in rural sub-Saharan Africa.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health, College of Medicine, Blantyre, Malawi. robcstewart@mac.com
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Umar
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kauye
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bunn
authors.forename: Maclean
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vokhiwa
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tomenson
authors.forename: Atif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Francis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Creed
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006128:Growth / Q000502:physiology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007224:Infant Care / Q000523:psychology*; D007228:Infant Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D008295:Malawi; D008297:Male; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012737:Sex Factors