ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Anxiety and Stress Disorders
This article is part of the Research TopicSafeguarding Pregnancy: Addressing Cervical Incompetence through Policy and PreventionView all articles
An analysis of anxiety and depression in second-trimester pregnant women with cervical insufficiency
Provisionally accepted
Jiebing Chen1
Dayue Liu1
Qiqiao Du1Guimei He1Chunqi Luo1
Fengchun Wu2Jinglei Ma3MEI FONG LAM4
Junxiu Liu1*Yinglei Mo1- 1The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- 2Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- 3Sun Yat-Sen University Hospital of Stomatology, Guangzhou, China
- 4Psychiatric service of the Centro Hospitalar Conde de São Januário,,, Macao, China
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Objective:: Perinatal mood disorders can seriously endanger the health of pregnant women and fetuses, thus causing heavy burdens and potential hazards to families and society. This study aimed to investigate anxiety and depression in second-trimester pregnant women with cervical insufficiency and provide guidance for clinical practice. Methods: A total of 136 second trimester women with cervical insufficiency who underwent laparoscopic cervical cerclage were selected as the observation group, and 117 Pregnant women with no pregnancy complications diagnosed in the second trimester of pregnancy composed the control group. In addition, both online and paper questionnaires were designed to collect basic information. Moreover, Zung's Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and Self-Rating Depression Scale were employed to evaluate the anxiety and depression of participants in both groups. Results: Pregnant women in the cervical insufficiency group had significantly higher Self-rating Anxiety Scale and Self-rating Depression Scale scores than did those in the control group (both P<0.001). Compared with those in the control group, a greater percentage of pregnant women in the cervical insufficiency group met the diagnostic criteria for anxiety and depression. The multivariate linear regression model revealed that cervical insufficiency and a history of abnormal pregnancy were related to higher Self-rating Anxiety Scale scores, whereas a history of abnormal pregnancy was also associated with higher Self-rating Depression Scale scores (both P<0.05). Conclusion: Pregnant women with cervical insufficiency are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression in the second trimester than normal pregnant women are. Healthcare professionals should pay more attention to these patients in clinical practice.
Keywords: Anxiety, Cervical insufficiency, Depression, Pregnant Women, Second trimester
Received: 19 Nov 2025; Accepted: 06 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Chen, Liu, Du, He, Luo, Wu, Ma, LAM, Liu and Mo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Junxiu Liu
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