AUTHOR=Huang Wei , Wu Xiaoli , Yao Zhenzhen , Gu Yingping , Lai Xin , Meng Liping , Peng Songxu 

TITLE=Investigating the relationship between hepatitis B virus infection and postpartum depression in Chinese women: a retrospective cohort study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1214151

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2023.1214151

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is associated with several psychological and obstetric factors. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been linked with a high risk of depression, but little is known about the relationship between maternal HBV infection and PPD. We aimed to investigate the association between HBV infection and PPD.Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 3,808 mothers who gave birth in a hospital in southern China. Self-reported Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to assess PPD. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine whether maternal HBV infection was associated with PPD risk.Results: Of the 3,808 participants, 11.9% of mothers had PPD at six weeks postpartum. 278 (7.3%) and 3,530 (92.7%) were in the HBV and control groups, respectively. Women with HBV infection were more likely to test positive for PPD (14.7% versus 11.7%). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that HBV-infected women did not have a significantly higher incidence of PPD (OR = 1.23; 95% CI, 0.82-1.84) than those without HBV infection in the study cohort. Parity and postpartum hemorrhage were found to be associated with PPD. In addition, our study showed that e antigen positivity was not associated with PPD risk (OR= 0.56,.Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first investigation of the relationship between maternal HBV infection and PPD. In a cohort of women without prior history or family history of mental illness, having HBV infection was not significantly associated with self-reporting of PPD compared to not having HBV infection.