Preconception mental health and developmental vulnerability at school entry: population-based cohort study

Perinatal depression and/or anxiety (depression-anxiety) have been associated with developmental disruptions. Less attention has been paid to preconception mental health, which could also contribute to adverse outcomes.

To examine whether preconception mental health is associated with developmental vulnerability in children who were either exposed or unexposed to prenatal depression.

A population-based, retrospective cohort including 130 631 births to 108 340 pregnant people from British Columbia (Canada) between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2012, with child development data in the form of the Early Development Instrument (EDI). Logistic regression using cluster-robust standard errors was used to compare the odds of vulnerability on EDI domains.

Children born to pregnant people in all groups with depression-anxiety preconception history were more likely to be considered vulnerable on all developmental domains, except for communication skills and general knowledge, than those without prenatal depression and no preconception depression-anxiety. After adjusting for confounders, effect size was largest for children born to a person with prenatal depression who had persistent depression-anxiety before they conceived on the domains of physical health and well-being (adjusted odds ratio 1.73 [95% CI: 1.56-1.92]). Children born to people with prenatal depression but no preconception depression-anxiety were probably more vulnerable on social competence and emotional maturity domains than those without prenatal depression and no preconception depression-anxiety.

Preconception mental health is associated with child development, even after accounting for depression in pregnancy. We hypothesise that it is picking up on different experiences of mental illness through the life course and represents slightly different fetal exposures.