Associations between anxiety, depression, and weight status during and after pregnancy: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Previous work has found adverse mental health symptomology in women living with obesity, compared with those of healthy weight, around the time of pregnancy. This meta-analysis aimed to explore the association between anxiety, depression, and weight status in women living with obesity before, during, and after pregnancy. Bibliographic databases were systematically searched, and 14 studies were included, which aimed to assess the association between excess weight and anxiety or depression outcomes in women before, during, or after pregnancy. Data were analyzed via narrative synthesis and random effects multi-level meta-analyses. Scores on mental health indices were significantly greater (indicative of worse anxiety/depression) in women with obesity compared to women of a healthy weight, around the time of pregnancy (SMD = 0.21 [95% CI: 0.11–0.31; 95% prediction intervals: 0.13–0.56], I2 = 73%, p < 0.01). Depressive symptoms were greater during and after pregnancy (SMD = 0.23 [95% CI: 0.13–0.34; 95% prediction intervals: −0.12 to 0.59], I2 = 75.0%, p < 0.01), and trait anxiety symptoms were greater during pregnancy (SMD = 0.24 [95% CI: 0.01–0.47; 95% prediction intervals: −0.25 to 0.72], I2 = 83.7%, p = 0.039) in women living with obesity, compared to those of healthy weight. Narrative evidence suggests that socioeconomic status and ethnicity may modify the relationship between obesity and mental health symptomology. The findings indicate that maternal obesity is associated with greater anxiety and depression symptoms. These findings may inform the design of maternal weight management interventions.