Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America.
Department of Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2020 Dec 21;15(12):e0243188. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243188. eCollection 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected physical and mental health worldwide. Pregnant women already exhibit an elevated risk for depression compared to the general public, a pattern expected to be exacerbated by the pandemic. Certain lifestyle factors, including moderate exercise, may help support mental health during pregnancy, but it is unclear how the pandemic may impact these associations across different locations. Here, we test whether: (i) reported exercise routine alterations during the pandemic are associated with depression scores; and, (ii) the likelihood of reporting pandemic-related exercise changes varies between women living in metro areas and those in non-metro areas.
This cross-sectional study used data from the COVID-19 And Reproductive Effects (CARE) study, an online survey of pregnant women in the United States. Participants were recruited April-June 2020 (n = 1,856). Linear regression analyses assessed whether reported COVID-19-related exercise change was associated with depression score as measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Survey. Logistic regression analyses tested whether a participant's Rural-Urban Continuum Code classification of "metro" was linked with higher odds of reporting exercise changes compared to a "non-metro" classification.
Women who reported exercise changes during the pandemic exhibited significantly higher depression scores compared to those reporting no changes. Moreover, individuals living in metro areas of all sizes were significantly more likely to report exercise changes compared to women living in non-metro areas.
These results suggest that the ability to maintain an exercise routine during the pandemic may help support maternal mental health. It may therefore be prudent for providers to explicitly ask patients how the pandemic has impacted their exercise routines and consider altered exercise routines a potential risk factor for depression. An effort should also be made to recommend exercises that are tailored to individual space restrictions and physical health.
COVID-19 大流行对全球的身心健康产生了负面影响。与普通公众相比，孕妇已经表现出更高的抑郁风险，这种模式预计会因大流行而加剧。某些生活方式因素，包括适度运动，可能有助于在怀孕期间支持心理健康，但尚不清楚大流行如何影响不同地区的这些关联。在这里，我们检验以下内容：（i）报告的大流行期间运动常规改变是否与抑郁评分相关；（ii）报告大流行相关运动改变的可能性是否因居住在大都市地区和非大都市地区的女性而异。
这项横断面研究使用了美国 COVID-19 和生殖影响（CARE）研究的在线调查数据，该研究是一项针对孕妇的在线调查。参与者于 2020 年 4 月至 6 月招募（n = 1856）。线性回归分析评估了报告的 COVID-19 相关运动变化是否与爱丁堡产后抑郁量表测量的抑郁评分相关。逻辑回归分析检验了参与者的农村-城市连续体代码分类为“大都市”是否与报告运动变化的几率较高相关，与“非大都市”分类相比。
报告大流行期间运动变化的女性的抑郁评分明显高于未报告变化的女性。此外，与居住在非大都市地区的女性相比，居住在所有规模大都市地区的个体报告运动变化的可能性显著更高。
这些结果表明，在大流行期间保持运动常规的能力可能有助于支持产妇的心理健康。因此，医生应该谨慎地询问患者大流行如何影响他们的运动常规，并考虑改变的运动常规是抑郁的潜在风险因素。还应努力推荐适合个人空间限制和身体健康的运动。
