title: Autonomic nervous system activity and anxiety and depressive symptoms in mothers up to 2 years postpartum.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We investigated the association between autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity and symptoms of anxiety and depression for the first 2 years postpartum.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 108 participants within 2 years postpartum underwent physiological measurements of ANS activity using the heart rate variability (HRV) power spectrum and self-reported questionnaires (14-item Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score). The cutoff points for anxiety and depressive symptom scores in this questionnaire were as follows: 7 or less, non-cases; 8-10, doubtful cases; 11 or more, definite cases. This study was conducted from 2012 to 2014 at University Hospital in Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and a nearby obstetrics and gynecology department clinic in Japan.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Anxiety and depression non-cases accounted for 67.6% (n = 73) of subjects, anxiety non-cases and depression doubtful and definite cases 7.4% (n = 8), anxiety doubtful and definite cases and depression non-cases 8.3% (n = 9), and anxiety and depression doubtful and definite cases 16.7% (n = 18). Findings were similar for women with anxiety or depression, with total power (TP), low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) components of HRV among doubtful and definite cases significantly lower than among non-cases for both anxiety (p = 0.006, 0.034, 0.029, respectively) and depression (p = 0.001, 0.004, 0.007). Significant correlations were observed between TP, LF and HF and anxiety and depression scores (respective values for anxiety: rs = -0.331, p <0.001; rs = -0.286, p = 0.003; rs = -0.269, p = 0.005; and depression: rs = -0.389, rs = -0.353, rs = -0.337, all p <0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study demonstrated that mothers with anxiety or depressive symptoms had significantly lower HRV (HF, LF and TP) than those without.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Nursing , Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts , Kyoto , Japan .
authors.forename: Mie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Izumi
authors.affiliation: a Department of Nursing , Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts , Kyoto , Japan .
authors.forename: Emiko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Manabe
authors.affiliation: a Department of Nursing , Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts , Kyoto , Japan .
authors.forename: Sayo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uematsu
authors.affiliation: b Graduate School of Psychological Science, Hiroshima International University , Hiroshima , Japan , and.
authors.forename: Ayako
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.affiliation: c Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University , Kyoto , Japan.
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Moritani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Anxiety; autonomic nervous system; depression; postpartum