Korhonen Laura, Nolvi Saara, Peltola Ville, Lukkarinen Minna, Korja Riikka, Karlsson Linnea, Karlsson Hasse
FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Finland; and Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Finland.
FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Finland; and Turku Institute for Advanced Studies, Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Finland.
BJPsych Open. 2023 May 25;9(3):e100. doi: 10.1192/bjo.2023.59.
The research on the role of father in the foetal programming of health and behaviour has received increasing attention. However, the influences of paternal depressive symptoms and couple relationship satisfaction during pregnancy - potentially mediated via maternal well-being - on the offspring's risk of infections in early life is still seldom assessed.
The aim was to investigate if paternal psychological distress during pregnancy is associated with elevated risk of recurrent respiratory infections (RRIs) for offspring at 12 months of age, and whether maternal distress mediates the association between paternal distress and offspring RRIs.
The study population was drawn from the nested case-control cohort of the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study. Children with RRIs ( = 50) were identified by maternal reports at the age of 12 months, whereas mothers did not report RRIs for the comparison group ( = 716). Parental depressive symptoms were measured with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and couple relationship satisfaction was measured with the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale.
The association between paternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy and offspring RRIs was mediated by maternal prenatal depressive symptoms. Additionally, paternal poorer relationship satisfaction was associated with child RRIs independently of maternal distress.
The results suggest different pathways through which paternal distress during pregnancy may contribute to elevated risk of offspring RRIs, and more research is needed to study their underlying mechanisms. Paternal distress and couple relationship satisfaction during pregnancy should be assessed and screened as a contributor to offspring health.
父亲在胎儿健康与行为编程中所起作用的研究已受到越来越多的关注。然而，孕期父亲的抑郁症状及夫妻关系满意度（可能通过母亲的幸福感介导）对后代早期感染风险的影响仍很少被评估。
旨在调查孕期父亲的心理困扰是否与后代12个月大时反复呼吸道感染（RRIs）风险升高有关，以及母亲的困扰是否介导了父亲困扰与后代RRIs之间的关联。
研究人群来自芬兰大脑出生队列研究的巢式病例对照队列。12个月大时通过母亲报告确定患有RRIs的儿童（n = 50），而对照组（n = 716）的母亲未报告RRIs。用爱丁堡产后抑郁量表测量父母的抑郁症状，用修订的二元调适量表测量夫妻关系满意度。
孕期父亲抑郁症状与后代RRIs之间的关联由母亲产前抑郁症状介导。此外，父亲较差的关系满意度与儿童RRIs独立相关，与母亲的困扰无关。
结果表明孕期父亲的困扰可能导致后代RRIs风险升高的不同途径，需要更多研究来探讨其潜在机制。孕期父亲的困扰和夫妻关系满意度应作为后代健康的一个影响因素进行评估和筛查。
