Correlation between Patient Health Questionnaire-15 and maternal anxiety and delivery outcomes: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Background：There are many factors that affect the outcome of pregnant women. And the psychological state of prenatal pregnant women is one of the common and serious influencing factors, which is important for the early detection and early intervention of pregnant women's nervousness and anxiety. At present, a large number of studies are exploring effective tools for early assessment of tension and anxiety in pregnant women. This study aims to explore the correlation between the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 score and maternal nervousness, anxiety, and birth outcomes. Method: From March 2020 to March 2022, 2776 pregnant women completed PHQ-15 scores, who had prenatal check-up in the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University and were scheduled to give birth in the hospital and data from the surveyed pregnant women were analyzed. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the influencing factors of PHQ-15 score, and chi-square test and linear regression analysis investigated the correlation between PHQ-15 score and birth outcomes. Outcome: The higher the score of those with greater family economic pressure, worse family relationship status, worse mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship, threatened miscarriage, impatient personality, impulsive personality, and strong personality (P<0.05). However, the higher the satisfaction level of the lover and the extrovert after pregnancy, the higher the score of the extrovert (P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in pregnancy outcomes between the different PHQ-15 score groups (P<0.05): the number of people who had no somatization and those who had more somatization than those who had somatized spontaneous births was also statistically different (P<0.05). Besides,the higher the PHQ-15 score, the lower the neonatal weight (P<0.05). Conclusion: The PHQ-15 questionnaire score has a strong correlation with pregnancy outcomes, and its influencing factors are the same as a series of important factors affecting pregnant women's nervous and anxious mood. Early detection and early intervention of pregnant women's nervousness and anxiety are effective ways to improve the outcome of childbirth. Therefore, the PHQ-15 questionnaire is expected to be an effective tool for early detection of maternal nervousness and anxiety, and provide an effective way to improve maternal labor outcomes.