Maternal prenatal psychological distress and motor/cognitive development in two-year-old offspring: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study

Abstract

Maternal prenatal psychological distress, including depression and anxiety, may affect offspring’s motor/cognitive development. However, research findings have been inconsistent. We used a dataset from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study to evaluate associations between maternal six-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) scores and motor/cognitive development among offspring at two years of age. Their offspring’s motor/cognitive development was assessed using the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development 2001. Records for 1859 male and 1817 female offspring were analyzed. The maternal K6 was administered twice during pregnancy: at a median of 14.6 weeks (M-T1) and 27.3 weeks (M-T2) of gestation. Multiple regression analysis was performed with the group with K6 scores ≤4 at both M-T1 and M-T2 as a reference. In the group with K6 scores ≥5 at both M-T1 and M-T2, male offspring had significantly lower developmental quotients (DQ) in the posture-motor area (partial regression coefficient [B]: −3.68, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −5.92 to −1.44) and language-social area (B: −1.93; 95%CI: −3.73 to −0.12), while female offspring had a lower DQ for the language-social area (B: −1.95; 95%CI: −3.73 to −0.17). In those with K6 scores ≥5 only at M-T1 or M-T2, male and female offspring did not differ significantly in DQ for any area. Continuous maternal psychological distress from the first to the second half of pregnancy was associated with lower motor and verbal cognitive development in male offspring and lower verbal cognitive development in female offspring at 2 years compared with the group without persistent maternal prenatal psychological distress.

Maternal prenatal and postnatal psychological distress trajectories and impact on cognitive development in 4-year-old children: the Japan Environment and Children’s Study

“…These covariate factors were mostly chosen with reference to previous relevant studies. 1–4,15 No multicollinearity was found in this analysis (VIF < 2), except for parity and number of children.…”

“…These covariate factors were mostly chosen with reference to previous relevant studies. [1][2][3][4]15 No multicollinearity was found in this analysis (VIF < 2), except for parity and number of children. Second, multiple regression analyses were adjusted for variables selected through a stepwise method, with the significance level for entry into the model set at 0.20 and for staying in the model at 0.15.…”

“…We used a Japanese version of K6 with a cutoff score of ≥ 5 to identify cases of psychological distress, as used in previous studies of populations and affected communities in Japan. 12–15…”

“…We used a Japanese version of K6 with a cutoff score of ≥ 5 to identify cases of psychological distress, as used in previous studies of populations and affected communities in Japan. [12][13][14][15] We analyzed the data to determine the association between K6 scores of ≥ 5 and cognitive development in 4-year-old children.…”