title: Relationship between social support during pregnancy and postpartum depressive state: a prospective cohort study.
abstract: Although the association between social support and postpartum depression has been previously investigated, its causal relationship remains unclear. Therefore, we examined prospectively whether social support during pregnancy affected postpartum depression. Social support and depressive symptoms were assessed by Japanese version of Social Support Questionnaire (J-SSQ) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), among 877 pregnant women in early pregnancy and at one month postpartum. First, J-SSQ was standardized among peripartum women. The J-SSQ was found to have a two-factor structure, with Number and Satisfaction subscales, by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Analysis of covariance was performed to examine how EPDS and J-SSQ scores during pregnancy affected the EPDS score at postpartum. Significant associations were found between postpartum EPDS score and both EPDS and total scores on the Number subscales during pregnancy (β = 0.488 and -0.054, ps < 0.001). Specifically, this negative correlation was stronger in depressive than non-depressive groups. Meanwhile, total score on Satisfaction subscales was not significantly associated with postpartum EPDS score. These results suggest that having a larger number of supportive persons during pregnancy helps protect against postpartum depression, and that this effect is greater in depressive than non-depressive pregnant women. This finding is expected to be vitally important in preventive interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Mako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Medicine and Clinical Research, Nagoya University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ando
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Branko
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aleksic
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Shohko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kunimoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukako
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Chika
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Yota
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Uno
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Ai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tamaji
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Policy Studies, Nanzan University, Seto, Japan.
authors.forename: Norika
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hayakawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Kaori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Furumura
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shiino
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Tokiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Harue
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohoka
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Hinako
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Usui
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Banno
authors.affiliation: Liaison Medical Marunouchi, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Satomi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Murase
authors.affiliation: Sugiyama Jogakuen University, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Setsuko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Education and Human Development, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsuko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kanai
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Law, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Masuda
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ozaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires