Association between childbearing history and depressive symptoms in postmenopausal women: analysis of data from...

Depression is common in postmenopausal women, yet the link with childbearing history remains poorly understood.

A total of 7387 postmenopausal women were enrolled, gathered from NHANES spanning 2005 to 2018. Multivariable logistic regression models were applied to evaluate the associations between depressive symptoms and both the timing and number of live births.

After adjusting for potential confounding variables, women with first live birth at the age of ≥30 years had 44 % (OR: 0.56, 95 %CI: 0.31-1.00) decreased risk of depressive symptoms, compared to those with first live birth at the age of <20 years. Similarly, compared to women with last live birth at the age of <30 years, those with last live birth at 30≤ <35 years showed a decreased risk of depressive symptoms (OR: 0.75, 95 %CI: 0.56-0.99, p=0.046). On the other hand, after correction for a variety of potential confounding variables, the number of pregnancies and the number of live births showed no significant association with depressive symptoms in postmenopausal women.

The ages at first and last live birth, rather than the number of pregnancies and the number of live births, are associated with depressive symptoms during the postmenopausal period. This distinction is crucial for developing targeted interventions and support systems to enhance mental health in postmenopausal women.