Epidemiology

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Depressive symptoms in adulthood and intrauterine exposure to pre-eclampsia: the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study

  1. S Tuovinen1,
  2. K Räikkönen1,
  3. E Kajantie2,3,
  4. A–K Pesonen1,4,
  5. K Heinonen1,
  6. C Osmond5,
  7. DJP Barker5,6,
  8. JG Eriksson4,7

Article first published online: 18 JUN 2010

DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2010.02634.x

Issue

BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Volume 117, Issue 10, pages 1236–1242, September 2010

Additional Information

How to Cite

Tuovinen, S., Räikkönen, K., Kajantie, E., Pesonen, A., Heinonen, K., Osmond, C., Barker, D. and Eriksson, J. (2010), Depressive symptoms in adulthood and intrauterine exposure to pre-eclampsia: the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 117: 1236–1242. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2010.02634.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

  2. 2

    Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland

  3. 3

    Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Helsinki, Finland

  4. 4

    Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

  5. 5

    Medical Research Council Epidemiology Resource Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

  6. 6

    Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

  7. 7

    Folkhälsan Research Centre, Helsinki, Finland

*K Räikkönen, University of Helsinki, PO Box 9, 00140 University of Helsinki, Finland. Email katri.raikkonen@helsinki.fi

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 16 AUG 2010
  2. Article first published online: 18 JUN 2010
  3. Accepted 6 May 2010. Published Online 18 June 2010.

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Keywords:

  • Adult age;
  • depressive symptoms in offspring;
  • pre-eclampsia

Please cite this paper as: Tuovinen S, Räikkönen K, Kajantie E, Pesonen A, Heinonen K, Osmond C, Barker D, Eriksson J. Depressive symptoms in adulthood and intrauterine exposure to pre-eclampsia: the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. BJOG 2010;117:1236–1242.

Objective  We studied whether pre-eclampsia predicts depressive symptoms in offspring.

Design  Retrospective longitudinal cohort study.

Setting  Participants in the Helsinki Birth Cohort 1934–44 Study.

Population  We classed 788 women and men born at term after a normotensive, hypertensive or pre-eclamptic pregnancy, by using the mother’s blood pressure and urinary protein measurements, at maternity clinics and birth hospitals.

Methods  Linear and logistic regression analyses. We made adjustments for the mother’s age and body mass index (BMI) at delivery, the participant’s body size at birth/length of gestation, sex and childhood socio-economic status, age and educational attainment at testing.

Main outcome measures  Beck depression inventory (BDI) scores completed twice, at the ages of 60 and 63 years.

Result  Participants born after a primiparous pregnancy complicated by pre-eclampsia had over 30% (P < 0.04) higher depressive symptom scores in adulthood compared with those born after a primiparous normotensive pregnancy. We found no evidence of the association between pre-eclampsia and depression among participants born after multiparous pregnancies. Gestational hypertension and depressive symptoms were not significantly associated. The models adjusting for mother’s age and BMI at delivery, the participant’s body size at birth/length of gestation, sex, childhood socio-economic status, age and educational attainment at testing did not change the results.

Conclusion  Pre-eclampsia is associated with later depressive symptoms in individuals born at term and after a primiparous pregnancy. These findings are compatible with the adverse fetal ‘programming’ by a suboptimal prenatal environment.

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