Poorer mental health and sleep quality are associated with greater self-reported reward-related eating during pregnancy and postpartum: an observational cohort study

Abstract

Background: Depression, stress, and poor-quality sleep are common during pregnancy and postpartum, but the relationship of these factors with reward-related eating is not well understood. This observational cohort study examines associations of depression, stress, and sleep quality with self-reported reward-related eating in pregnancy and postpartum. Methods: Participants were enrolled at < 12 weeks gestation and followed through 1 year postpartum. Self-reported measures obtained at baseline and 23–31 weeks postpartum included the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; reward-related eating measures included the Power of Food Scale (assessing hedonic hunger), modified Yale Food Addiction Scale (assessing addictive-like eating), and frequency and intensity of cravings. Linear and logistic regression models estimated associations of depressive symptoms, stress, and sleep quality with reward-related eating during pregnancy and postpartum, as well as change in each predictor with change in outcome. Results: During pregnancy, greater depressive symptoms (β ± SE = 0.03 ± 0.01, p