AUTHOR=Zhang Jiali , Yuan Hualong , Xu Liping , Yi Chuntao , Tang Weiming 

TITLE=The impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of pregnant women in Shanghai, China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.938156

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.938156

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Background: COVID-19 has dramatically impacted people's health, especially mental health. This study aimed to compare the psychological status of pregnant women before and after the COVID-19 outbreak.
Method: Participants were recruited (from September 29, 2019, to November 5, 2020) and screened by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7). The study participants were categorized into three groups based on two turning-point: January 23, 2020, when China initiated a locked-down strategy, and May 11, 2020, when Shanghai started to ease the COVID-19 measures. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with depression and anxiety in pregnant women. We used enter method for variable selection; only variables with P<0.10 were included in the final model.
Results: We recruited 478 pregnant women. After the outbreak, the depression rate (PHQ-9≥5) increased by 12.3% (from 35.4% to 47.7%), and the anxiety rate (GAD-7≥5) was stable (13.3% VS 16.2%). The multivariable logistic regression results further confirmed that the odds of depression in pregnant women increased 81% after the outbreak (aOR=1.81, 95%CI: 1.16-2.84). However, the median depression scale score was still statistically higher after the pandemic situation was stable (5.0 vs. 4.0) compared to the outbreak period. 
Conclusion: The depression rate increased among pregnant women after the outbreak and was not recovered after the ease of COVID-19 measures in Shanghai. Health institutes should pay attention to the long-term influence of the pandemic.