Multiple modifiable lifestyle factors and the risk of perinatal depression during pregnancy: Findings from the GUSTO cohort

Background: Studies have identified lifestyle risk factors for perinatal depression, but none have examined the cumulative effect of these risk factors in pregnant women. Methods: We considered the following six factors during pregnancy: poor diet quality (Healthy eating index for Singapore pregnant women 5), physical inactivity (15) and at three months postpartum (≥13). Prevalence risk ratios were calculated with Poisson regressions while adjusting for potential confounders. Results: Of 535 pregnant women, 207 (39%) had zero or one risk factor, 146 (27%) had two, 119 (22%) had three, 48 (9%) had four, and 15 (3%) had ≥5 risk factors at 26–28 weeks' gestation. These six lifestyle habits contributed to 32% of the variance in depressive symptoms during pregnancy. The prevalence of being probably depressed was 6.4 (95% CI 2.1, 19.8; ptrend