Association between pregnancy, and lactation after delivery and depressive symptoms in premenopausal Korean women and multilevel approach according to household composition: Result from the Korea Community Health Survey in 2019

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the association between pregnancy, lactation after delivery and depressive symptoms in Korean women and to explore the associations according to household composition.

Methods: We included 34,321 premenopausal women from the Korea Community Health Survey in 2019, a population-based cross-sectional study. We categorized the premenopausal women into 3 groups by questions about whether they were currently in menstruation: reference (women who were not pregnant or lactating after delivery), pregnancy, and lactation after delivery. Depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 5) were assessed through questionnaires with trained interviewers. Multiple logistic regression analysis were performed.

Results: Among 34,321 participants, 20,790 (60.6 %) had depressive symptoms. In the fully adjusted model, we found a significant association between mild depressive symptoms in lactated women after delivery (odds ratio [OR], 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 1.32 [1.04-1.65]) compared to a reference. Compared to reference, the association between women who were lactation after delivery and depressive symptoms was particularly noticeable in women living in families of 2-generation (OR, 95 % CI = 1.29 [1.00-1.65]) and 3-generation (OR, 95 % CI = 2.53 [1.31-4.89]).

Limitations: We utilized self-reported data on pregnancy and lactation after delivery, this exposure variable may be underestimated.

Conclusion: Our study observed associations between lactated women after delivery and depressive symptoms. This association was more pronounced in women living in 3-generation.