Different trajectories of depressive symptoms during pregnancy

ackground:Up to 10–15% of women experience high levels of depressive symptoms during pregnancy. Sincethese levels of symptoms can vary greatly over time, the current study investigated the existence of possiblelongitudinal trajectories of depressive symptoms during pregnancy, and aimed to identify factors associated withthese trajectories.Methods:Depressive symptoms were assessed prospectively at each trimester in 1832 women, using theEdinburgh (Postnatal) Depression Scale (E(P)DS). Growth mixture modeling was used to identify trajectories ofdepressive symptoms during pregnancy.Results:Three trajectories of depressive symptoms (E(P)DS scores) were identified: low stable (class 1, referencegroup, 83%), decreasing (class 2, 7%), and increasing (class 3, 10%). Classes 2 and 3 had significantly highermean E(P)DS scores (7–13 throughout pregnancy) compared to the reference group (stable; E(P)DS