RELATION BETWEEN EATING BEHAVIOR, BODY IMAGE PERCEPTIONS, SLEEP QUALITY AND PERIPARTUM DEPRESSION DURING PREGNANCY
Description
This study hypothesized that eating behaviors, body image perception and sleep quality would collectively predict peripartum depressive symptoms in first-time pregnant women (primigravida). The central premise was that these four modifiable lifestyle and psychological factors are meaningfully interconnected and influence maternal mental health during the perinatal period. 199 primigravida women attending routine antenatal care at SRM Hospital and Medical Research Centre (India) were recruited over 3 months (July–September 2025) using convenient sampling. All participants scored ≥13 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), indicating clinically relevant depressive symptoms. Women with high-risk pregnancies or major comorbidities were excluded. Participants self-completed four validated questionnaires: EPDS (depression), TFEQ-R18 (eating behavior — emotional, uncontrolled, and cognitive restraint subscales), BSQ-34 (body image dissatisfaction), and PSQI (sleep quality). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlations and multiple linear regression in SPSS v20. The sample had a mean age of 26.97 years and a mean EPDS score of 15.96, reflecting moderate depressive symptoms. Mean PSQI score of 9.65 confirmed poor sleep quality across the sample (threshold >5). BSQ mean of 86.08 indicated moderate body image dissatisfaction. Body image dissatisfaction (BSQ) was the only significant predictor of depressive symptoms in both bivariate correlation (r = .192, p = .006) and multivariate regression (β = .235, p = .001). For every 1-point increase in BSQ score, EPDS increased by 0.024 points. The full regression model was statistically significant (F = 2.375, p = .031) but explained only 6.9% of variance in depression scores (R² = .069), indicating limited overall predictive power. Eating behavior subscales and sleep quality did not significantly predict depression when modeled together. A secondary finding was a weak but significant positive correlation between cognitive restraint in eating and body image dissatisfaction (r = .146, p = .040), suggesting women more concerned about their bodies tend to restrict their eating more deliberately. Body image dissatisfaction emerges as a proximal psychological risk factor for peripartum depression, likely operating through emotion dysregulation mechanisms. Eating behaviors and sleep disturbances appear to be secondary — possibly consequences of depression rather than independent drivers. The findings support routine body image screening in prenatal care and suggest that interventions helping pregnant women cognitively reframe physical body changes could reduce depression risk. The model's limited explained variance points to unmeasured factors (trauma history, social support, hormonal changes) as likely important contributors, warranting future longitudinal and biopsychosocial research.
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Institutions
- SRM Institute of Science and TechnologyTamil Nadu, Chennai