Depression as a Cardiovascular Risk Marker in Pregnancy: Hypertensive and Arrhythmic Maternal Outcomes in a...

Background: Antenatal depression has been associated with systemic inflammation, autonomic imbalance, and vascular dysfunction, yet its relationship with clinically relevant cardiovascular complications during pregnancy remains insufficiently defined. Objective: To evaluate whether antenatal depression diagnosed before cardiologic assessment is associated with gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and clinically significant Holter-confirmed arrhythmias in a tertiary-care population of pregnant women referred for cardiology assessment. Methods: We conducted a retrospective secondary matched cohort analysis nested within a prospectively approved doctoral research protocol (approval no. 76/02.10.2023; approved study interval: 2 October 2023-10 February 2025), including deliveries from October 2023 to February 2025. During this 16-month interval, 12,436 deliveries were recorded. The index point was the first cardiology specialist evaluation performed between 22 + 0 and 36 + 6 weeks' gestation. Pregnancies with a depressive disorder diagnosed by structured psychiatric interview (SCID-5) before cardiology evaluation were classified as exposed. Depression severity was categorized as mild (n = 44), moderate (n = 62), or severe (n = 24), and psychotropic medication class at index was recorded. Each depressed case was matched 1:3 with non-depressed controls by gestational age at index, calendar year, maternal age, BMI category, smoking status, and parity; adjusted models included BMI and psychotropic medication class. Results: The final referral-enriched cohort included 130 depressed pregnancies and 390 matched controls (n = 520), all of whom underwent cardiology evaluation. Between 22 + 0 and 36 + 6 weeks' gestation, gestational hypertension occurred in 18.5% vs. 10.0% (p = 0.010), preeclampsia in 8.5% vs. 4.9% (p = 0.12), and clinically significant Holter-confirmed arrhythmias in 15.4% vs. 6.9% (p = 0.003) in depressed versus control groups, respectively. After adjustment, depression remained independently associated with gestational hypertension (aOR 1.85, 95% CI 1.12-3.05; p = 0.016) and arrhythmia (aOR 2.05, 95% CI 1.18-3.57; p = 0.011). A numerical, exploratory severity-response gradient was observed across mild, moderate, and severe depression strata, most clearly for Holter-confirmed arrhythmias; however, the severe-depression stratum was small (n = 24). Conclusions: Antenatal depression was associated with a modest but significant increase in gestational hypertension and clinically significant Holter-confirmed arrhythmias during late pregnancy among women referred for cardiology assessment. The higher preeclampsia rate in depressed pregnancies was not statistically significant. These findings support antenatal depression as a cardiovascular risk marker in gestation rather than proof of causality.