Depression and Anxiety
Depression and Anxiety
5 years ago

Maternal choline status during pregnancy, but not that of betaine, is related to antenatal mental well-being: The growing up in Singapore toward healthy outcomes cohort

Mary Foong-Fong Chong, Helen Chen, Yap Seng Chong, Fabian K. P. Yap, Seang Mei Saw, Keith M. Godfrey, Phaik Ling Quah, Michael J Meaney, Linde Lee
Background Choline and betaine status have previously been associated with symptoms of depression. However, the relation of maternal plasma choline and betaine concentrations in pregnancy to peripartum maternal mood is unknown. Methods Maternal plasma choline and betaine concentrations (μmol/L) were measured at 26–28 weeks gestation in the Growing Up in Singapore Toward healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) mother–offspring cohort. Participants completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS) at 26–28 weeks gestation (n = 949) and at 3 months postnatal (n = 689): higher scores are indicative of more symptoms of anxiety and depression. Multivariate linear regression models were used to estimate the association of choline and betaine with ante- and postnatal mental well-being adjusting for covariates. Results Mean (SD) antenatal plasma choline and betaine concentrations were 9.2 μmol/L (1.6) and 13.1 μmol/L (2.7), respectively. Plasma choline concentrations were positively associated with antenatal depressive (β = .24 EPDS score [95% CI: 0.05–0.43] per μmol/L] and anxiety symptoms (β = .46 STAI-state score [95% CI: 0.03–0.88] per μmol/L) adjusting for covariates. Plasma betaine concentrations were not associated with antenatal depression or anxiety symptoms. No associations were observed between pregnancy choline or betaine and postnatal mental well-being. Conclusion This study suggests that higher maternal plasma choline status during pregnancy is associated with more symptoms of antenatal depression and anxiety, whereas plasma betaine concentrations showed no associations. No associations were observed for postnatal mental well-being. Prospective studies are required to replicate these findings and further examine the direction of causality and possible biological mechanisms.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/da.22637

You might also like
Discover & Discuss Important Research

Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.

  • Download from Google Play
  • Download from App Store
  • Download from AppInChina

Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.