Plasma adiponectin and depressive symptoms during pregnancy and the postpartum period: A prospective cohort study

Some authors have described an inverse association between adiponectin and depression, but this association has not yet been investigated during the perinatal period.

To evaluate the association between the plasma adiponectin levels and symptoms of depression in women from early pregnancy to 30-45 days postpartum.

A prospective cohort of 235 women was analyzed, with four waves of follow-up: 5-13th, 22-26th, and 30-36th gestational weeks and 30-45 days postpartum. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS; cutoff ≥ 11). The plasma adiponectin concentrations were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The statistical analyses included linear mixed effects regressions to model the association between these time-dependent variables.

The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 35.5%, 22.8%, 21.8%, and 16.9% and the median (µg/mL) adiponectin levels were 4.8, 4.7, 4.4, and 7.5 in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimesters and the postpartum period, respectively. Women who remained non-depressed throughout the study tended to have higher values of adiponectin throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period compared to those who had depressive symptoms at least once, but this difference was not statistically significant (β=-0.14; p=0.071). There was no statistically significant association between the plasma adiponectin levels and the EPDS scores in the multiple model (β=-0.07; p=0.320).

Losses to follow-up, different procedures for the blood draws at the prenatal and postpartum visits, and the presence of a nested clinical trial with omega-3 supplementation.

The plasma adiponectin levels were not associated with depressive symptoms during the perinatal period.