Longitudinal Analyses of Diet Quality and Maternal Depressive Symptoms During Pregnancy : The Kuopio Birth Cohort Study

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsBackground: Depression and diet quality appear to be associated in the general population. Nevertheless, little is known about their relationship among pregnant females. Objective: The aims of this study were first, to investigate longitudinally whether or not diet quality is associated with depressive symptoms during pregnancy; second, to examine whether or not variation in diet quality during pregnancy predicts variation in depressive symptoms; and third, to explore how individual dietary components are associated with depressive symptoms. Design: A longitudinal secondary analysis of the Kuopio Birth Cohort Study in eastern Finland was conducted. Data were collected from pregnant females during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy. Participants/setting: The participants were 1,362 pregnant females who entered the study between 2012 and 2017. Main outcome measures: Depressive symptoms, as measured with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depressive Scale during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy were used as continuous variables. Statistical analyses performed: The main analyses consisted of linear mixed model analyses adjusted for potential confounders to longitudinally assess the association between diet quality as measured by the Healthy Eating Index-2015, calculated using data from a food frequency questionnaire completed during the first trimester and third trimester, and depressive symptoms during the study period. An exploratory set of linear mixed models was also used to longitudinally assess the associations between selected individual food frequency questionnaire food groups and depressive symptoms. Results: Descriptive analyses revealed that 12.3% of the participants had clinically relevant levels of depressive symptoms (ie, Edinburgh Postnatal Depressive Scale score ≥10) during either the first or third trimester. Longitudinal modeling suggested that depressive symptoms in pregnant females tend to remain stable throughout pregnancy. Females with a poorer quality diet already displayed higher levels of depressive symptoms during the first trimester of pregnancy (β = –.038 ± .016; P = 0.022). Variation in diet quality did not predict variation in depressive symptoms over the course of pregnancy (β = –9.741 × 10–5 ± .001; P = 0.869). Conclusions: Females entering pregnancy with a poorer quality diet also displayed higher levels of depressive symptoms compared with females with a higher quality diet at the beginning of pregnancy, and this association remained constant throughout pregnancy. Further research is needed to assess the direction and the potential causality of the observed associations between diet quality and depressive symptoms.Peer reviewe

The effects of loneliness and social isolation on all-cause, injury, cancer, and CVD mortality in a cohort of middle-aged Finnish men. A prospective study

Objectives Loneliness and social isolation both increase mortality and are likely to affect health via several pathways. However, information on the potential pathways remains scarce. We investigated the associations between loneliness, social isolation, and mortality, and possible mechanisms underlying these connections. Methods The analyzed data comprised a prospective population-based cohort of Finnish men (42–61 years at baseline, n = 2588) who were followed up for an average of 23.2 years. Mortality data were obtained from the national population register in 2012. Cox proportional hazards analysis with adjustments for possible confounding factors was used to examine the associations between loneliness and social isolation at baseline and all-cause, injury, cancer, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. Mediation analysis was conducted to investigate the mechanisms underlying the associations of loneliness and social isolation with mortality. Results Loneliness predicted all-cause mortality, even after adjustments for all covariates. Loneliness predicted cancer mortality, except after adjustments for lifestyle variables or Human Population Laboratory (HPL) depression scores, and also predicted CVD mortality, except after adjustments for HPL depression scores. Social isolation predicted all-cause mortality and injury mortality. The effect of social isolation on all-cause mortality was mediated by loneliness and HPL depression scores. Conclusions Our findings suggest that both loneliness and social isolation increase the risk of all-cause mortality, while they have differing effects on different causes of death. Loneliness and depressive symptoms may mediate the effect of social isolation on increased mortality

Parental alcohol problems, parental divorce, and type II diabetes in adulthood: a longitudinal prospective cohort study in middle-aged men

Objective Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease and a serious global public health concern increasing both mortality and morbidity. Previous studies have found evidence for an association between early psychological stress and diabetes later in life. Methods This study examined the association between parental alcohol problems and parental divorce and the incidence of type 2 diabetes in Finnish men aged 42 to 61 years (n = 754) in a prospective setting. Information on parental alcohol problems and parental divorce was derived from school records and subjective experiences of the same events from self-rated questionnaires. The average follow-up time for the participants until the first type 2 diabetes diagnosis was 23.3 years (25th–75th percentile, 21.2–27.9 years). Results Cox regression analyses revealed that parental alcohol problems (hazard ratio = 3.09, 95% confidence interval = 1.38–6.88) were associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes during the follow-up, even after adjustment for age, marital status, education, Human Population Laboratory Depression Scale scores, smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index, and serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. In a similar model, parental divorce (hazard ratio = 1.69, 95% confidence interval = 0.40–7.05) was not associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes during the follow-up. Conclusions Our findings suggest that not all adverse childhood experiences contribute equally to the risk of type 2 diabetes. Parental alcohol problems, but not parental divorce, were associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in men. These findings highlight the need for early interventions targeting parents with excessive alcohol consumption to reduce their offspring’s risk of life-style–related disorders