Relationship between anemia and depressive mood in the last trimester of pregnancy

Objective: To compare the relationship between the severity of anemia and depressive mood in the last trimester of pregnancy.Methods: A cross-sectional study, enrolled a total of 450 pregnant women who attended the antenatal clinics in their third trimester for their routine antenatal follow-up. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. The study group was divided into two groups according to presence of anemia; anemic group (Hb<11gr/L; n=150) and non-anemic group (Hb11gr/L; n=300) and depression scores were compared.Results: One hundred and fourteen (25.3%) women scored13 points which were considered the cutoff value for depression on the EPDS. Anemia frequency was found as 33.3%. The total EPDS score was significantly higher in the anemic group (EPDS score 11 [min-max 0-29]) compared with the non-anemic group (EPDS score 7 [min-max 0-21]) (p=0.000). Multiple regression analysis also revealed that serum Hb level was an independent factor for antenatal depressive mood.Conclusions: As anemia is associated with higher depressive symptom levels, it should be carefully considered during pregnancy. Prospective studies are needed to confirm our results.