Anxiety, stress, and depression in Australian pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross sectional study.
D Davis, A Sheehy, H Nightingale and 3 others
PMID 36812820WHAT IT FOUND
Over 25% screened positive for depression, just over 19% had moderate or higher anxiety, and 15.5% had moderate or higher stress.
Prior mental illness was the strongest risk; social support was protective. Continuity of carer was not linked to lower distress after other factors.
Key findings
01Just over 19% had moderate or higher anxiety, 15.5% had moderate or higher stress, and over 25% screened positive for depression.
02Existing mental health condition was the strongest predictor of screening positive for depression, and women with an existing mental health condition were 4.7 times more likely to screen positive; higher partner and other social support was protective.
03Continuity of carer did not remain linked to lower distress after other factors were considered.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Participants were recruited through social media and self-selected, so response bias may have over- or under-estimated distress. The survey was cross-sectional, so it can show associations but cannot prove that lockdown, continuity of carer, or social support caused mental health outcomes. Women were in the third trimester, so continuity of carer reflected anticipated rather than experienced care for birth and postnatal periods. The sample was mostly white/European, university-educated, in a relationship, and from higher IRSAD deciles. This limits generalisability. It was conducted in Australia during a suppression strategy with low case numbers and mortality, so findings may not apply to higher-burden settings. 2067 women began the survey and 1668 were analysed; 399 did not progress beyond demographics, although the authors found no significant differences on key characteristics.
Declared interests
A grant from the Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation at the University of Canberra supported recruitment. The authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the adjusted null as proof that continuity of carer is useless. In unadjusted analyses, full continuity was associated with lower anxiety and women were less likely to screen positive for depression (OR 0.65), but the study was cross-sectional and women reported planned, not experienced, continuity.