Prenatal Stress and Psychiatric Symptoms During Early Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy
© 2021 Colli et al..
PURPOSE: In February 2020, Italy became the first European country to face the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. The concerns of infection, financial worries, loss of freedom, and isolation during the ongoing pandemic can lead to negative psychological effects, including anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The main aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between pandemic-related stress and pregnancy-specific stress and assess their role in the development of psychiatric symptoms. We predicted that pregnancy-specific stress would mediate an association of pandemic-related stress with psychiatric symptoms.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 258 pregnant women were assessed for general emotional symptoms with the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), and an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder screening (OCD). The Revised Prenatal Distress Questionnaire (NuPDQ) and the Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale (PREPS) were administered as measures of pregnancy-specific stress (PSS and pandemic-related, respectively). Mediation effects by NuPDQ for PREPS stress scales on psychiatric outcomes were calculated, using regression series and correcting for general covariates.
RESULTS: Almost a third of the sample reported clinically relevant anxiety levels (32.6%), 11.2% were positive for OCD screening and less than 5% were positive for depression screening. The stress related to feeling unprepared for delivery and postpartum (PREPS-PS) predicted PHQ-2 score, both directly and indirectly via PSS, and it predicted GAD-7 score only indirectly. The stress related to fear of infection (PREPS-PIS) was directly associated to GAD-7 score and - through PSS - to PHQ-2 score and OCD.
CONCLUSION: The pandemic onset contributed to poor mental health, especially anxiety, in a substantial portion of Italian pregnant women. Our results emphasize the importance of strategies to reduce pregnancy-specific stress, as well as to diminish stress due to the pandemic. Identifying risk factors for psychological suffering is important to prevent potential long-term consequences for mothers and their offspring.
| Medienart: |
E-Artikel |
|---|
| Erscheinungsjahr: |
2021 |
|---|---|
| Erschienen: |
2021 |
| Enthalten in: |
Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:13 |
|---|---|
| Enthalten in: |
International journal of women's health - 13(2021) vom: 16., Seite 653-662 |
| Sprache: |
Englisch |
|---|
| Beteiligte Personen: |
Colli, Chiara [VerfasserIn] |
|---|
| Links: |
|---|
| Themen: |
Anxiety |
|---|
| Anmerkungen: |
Date Revised 20.09.2023 published: Electronic-eCollection Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE |
|---|
| doi: |
10.2147/IJWH.S315467 |
|---|
| funding: |
|
|---|---|
| Förderinstitution / Projekttitel: |
|
| PPN (Katalog-ID): |
NLM328078824 |
|---|
| LEADER | 01000naa a22002652 4500 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | NLM328078824 | ||
| 003 | DE-627 | ||
| 005 | 20231225202204.0 | ||
| 007 | cr uuu---uuuuu | ||
| 008 | 231225s2021 xx |||||o 00| ||eng c | ||
| 024 | 7 | |a 10.2147/IJWH.S315467 |2 doi | |
| 028 | 5 | 2 | |a pubmed24n1093.xml |
| 035 | |a (DE-627)NLM328078824 | ||
| 035 | |a (NLM)34262355 | ||
| 040 | |a DE-627 |b ger |c DE-627 |e rakwb | ||
| 041 | |a eng | ||
| 100 | 1 | |a Colli, Chiara |e verfasserin |4 aut | |
| 245 | 1 | 0 | |a Prenatal Stress and Psychiatric Symptoms During Early Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy |
| 264 | 1 | |c 2021 | |
| 336 | |a Text |b txt |2 rdacontent | ||
| 337 | |a ƒaComputermedien |b c |2 rdamedia | ||
| 338 | |a ƒa Online-Ressource |b cr |2 rdacarrier | ||
| 500 | |a Date Revised 20.09.2023 | ||
| 500 | |a published: Electronic-eCollection | ||
| 500 | |a Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE | ||
| 520 | |a © 2021 Colli et al. | ||
| 520 | |a PURPOSE: In February 2020, Italy became the first European country to face the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. The concerns of infection, financial worries, loss of freedom, and isolation during the ongoing pandemic can lead to negative psychological effects, including anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The main aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between pandemic-related stress and pregnancy-specific stress and assess their role in the development of psychiatric symptoms. We predicted that pregnancy-specific stress would mediate an association of pandemic-related stress with psychiatric symptoms | ||
| 520 | |a PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 258 pregnant women were assessed for general emotional symptoms with the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), and an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder screening (OCD). The Revised Prenatal Distress Questionnaire (NuPDQ) and the Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale (PREPS) were administered as measures of pregnancy-specific stress (PSS and pandemic-related, respectively). Mediation effects by NuPDQ for PREPS stress scales on psychiatric outcomes were calculated, using regression series and correcting for general covariates | ||
| 520 | |a RESULTS: Almost a third of the sample reported clinically relevant anxiety levels (32.6%), 11.2% were positive for OCD screening and less than 5% were positive for depression screening. The stress related to feeling unprepared for delivery and postpartum (PREPS-PS) predicted PHQ-2 score, both directly and indirectly via PSS, and it predicted GAD-7 score only indirectly. The stress related to fear of infection (PREPS-PIS) was directly associated to GAD-7 score and - through PSS - to PHQ-2 score and OCD | ||
| 520 | |a CONCLUSION: The pandemic onset contributed to poor mental health, especially anxiety, in a substantial portion of Italian pregnant women. Our results emphasize the importance of strategies to reduce pregnancy-specific stress, as well as to diminish stress due to the pandemic. Identifying risk factors for psychological suffering is important to prevent potential long-term consequences for mothers and their offspring | ||
| 650 | 4 | |a Journal Article | |
| 650 | 4 | |a COVID-19 pandemic | |
| 650 | 4 | |a anxiety | |
| 650 | 4 | |a depression | |
| 650 | 4 | |a obsessive-compulsive disorder | |
| 650 | 4 | |a pregnancy-specific stress | |
| 700 | 1 | |a Penengo, Chiara |e verfasserin |4 aut | |
| 700 | 1 | |a Garzitto, Marco |e verfasserin |4 aut | |
| 700 | 1 | |a Driul, Lorenza |e verfasserin |4 aut | |
| 700 | 1 | |a Sala, Alessia |e verfasserin |4 aut | |
| 700 | 1 | |a Degano, Matilde |e verfasserin |4 aut | |
| 700 | 1 | |a Preis, Heidi |e verfasserin |4 aut | |
| 700 | 1 | |a Lobel, Marci |e verfasserin |4 aut | |
| 700 | 1 | |a Balestrieri, Matteo |e verfasserin |4 aut | |
| 773 | 0 | 8 | |i Enthalten in |t International journal of women's health |d 2010 |g 13(2021) vom: 16., Seite 653-662 |w (DE-627)NLM203577523 |x 1179-1411 |7 nnns |
| 773 | 1 | 8 | |g volume:13 |g year:2021 |g day:16 |g pages:653-662 |
| 856 | 4 | 0 | |u http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJWH.S315467 |3 Volltext |
| 912 | |a GBV_USEFLAG_A | ||
| 912 | |a GBV_NLM | ||
| 951 | |a AR | ||
| 952 | |d 13 |j 2021 |b 16 |h 653-662 | ||