Child Asthma and Change in Elevated Depressive Symptoms Among Mothers of Children of a Birth Cohort from Quebec

Abstract

The authors examined the association between maternal reports of child asthma attacks since birth and occurrence of elevated maternal depressive symptoms at seventeen months postpartum in the present study. The modifying role of poverty in this association was also examined. Data from n = 1,696 mother–child dyads from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, a birth cohort of children born in 1998, were used. Maternal depressive symptoms were measured with an abridged and validated twelve-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Maternal reports of child asthma attacks since birth in relation to the occurrence of maternal depressive symptoms at 17 months postpartum and the potential modifying role of poverty were tested using multiple logistic regression models. When mothers reported child asthma attacks, those without elevated depressive symptoms at 5 months postpartum had lower odds of elevated depressive symptoms one year later (OR = 0.2, 95% CI: 0.1–0.7). Poverty was associated with increased odds of elevated maternal depressive symptoms (OR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.5–3.9), without interacting with child asthma. Through this study, the authors suggest that in mothers without elevated symptoms at 5 months, reported child asthma attacks since birth did not contribute one year later to new occurrence of depressive symptoms.

KEYWORDS:

• child asthma
• maternal depressive symptoms
• poverty
• longitudinal studies

Notes

The IRSPUM and CRCHUM receive infrastructure funding from the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec. MTT is funded by a postdoctoral CIHR fellowship (CIHR #181755). MTT was also awarded the Young Investigator Award from the NARSAD, the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. LG holds a CIHR/CRPO (Centre de recherche en prévention de l'obésité) Applied Public Health Chair on Neighbourhoods, Lifestyle, and Healthy Body Weight. The Direction Santé Québec of the Institut de la Statistique du Québec was in charge of data collection. The authors would like to thank Béatrice Nikiéma for their helpful assistance.

¹Characteristics at 17 months unless specified otherwise.

^⊥ p < 0.10

*p < 0.05

**p < 0.01

***p < 0.001.

^⊥ p < 0.10

*p < 0.05

**p < 0.01

***p < 0.001.

*p < 0.05

**p < 0.01

***p < 0.005.

*Household income, drug use, child temperament at 5 months, emotional support, instrumental support, and family functioning.

**p < 0.05.