Stress, anxiety and depression in 1466 pregnant women during and before the COVID-19 pandemic: a Dutch cohort study

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographics and characteristics of the participants (during COVID-19) and controls (before COVID-19).

	Participants	Controls
Characteristics	N = 1102 (%)	N = 364 (%)	p Value
Age (years), mean (SD)	32.02 (3.8)	30.65 (4.3)	<0.001
Parity (%)
Nulliparity	527 (47.8)	364 (100)	<0.001
Multiparity	575 (52.2)	0 (0)
Gestation (%)
1^st trimester	213 (19.3)	47 (12.9)	0.018
2^nd trimester	399 (36.2)	137 (37.6)
3^rd trimester	490 (44.5)	180 (49.5)
Treated for psychological distress (before) (%)
Yes	428 (38.8)	174 (47.8)
No	674 (61.2)	190 (52.5)	0.003
Country of birth (%)
Netherlands	1051 (95.4)	343 (94.2)	0.736
Morocco	1 (0.1)	1 (0.3)
Suriname	3 (0.3)	1 (0.3)
Other	47 (4.3)	19 (5.2)
Living area (%)
High risk COVID-19 area	752 (68.2)
Low risk COVID-19 area	348 (31.6)
Unknown	2 (0.2)

Table 2. Discrete analysis of scores on the Hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) of the participants (during COVID-19) and controls (before COVID-19).

	Participants N = 1102 (%)	Controls N = 364 (%)	p Value
HADS ≥12	27.9	31.9	0.14
HADS-A ≥ 8	19.5	23.1	0.14
HADS-D ≥ 8	13.2	15.7	0.23
HADS ≥ 12^a	aOR, 1.3; 95% CI, 0.97–1.77		0.081
HADS-A ≥ 8^a	aOR, 1.3; 95% CI, 0.93–1.83		0.126
HADS-D ≥ 8^a	aOR, 1.4; 95% CI, 0.94–2.08		0.100

^aAdjusted for age, parity, gestation and psychological history.

aOR: adjusted odds ratio; CI: confidence interval.

Table 3. Continuous scores on the Hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) of the participants (during COVID-19) and controls (before COVID-19).

	Participants	Controls	Effect size^a	p Value^a
	(N = 1102)	(N = 364)
	Mean, SD	Mean, SD
HADS total score	8.75, 6.09	9.48, 6.01	0.004	0.02
HADS-A	4.90, 3.45	5.33, 3.44	0.003	0.03
HADS-D	3.85, 3.22	4.15, 3.26	0.003	0.03

^a While controlling for previous treatment of psychological distress, parity, gestation and maternal age.

Table 4. Perceived stress scale (PSS-10) in pregnant women during Covid-19.

	Stress related to COVID-19 (N = 538)	Stress not related to COVID-19 (N = 564)	Effect size	p Value^a
	Mean, SD	Mean, SD
PSS-10 overall score	15.61, 6.44	10.28, 5.48	0.89	<0.001
Positive subscale	5.92, 2.46	4.29, 2.21	0.69	<0.001
Negative subscale	9.68, 4.41	5.99, 3.80	0.90	<0.001