Maternal anxiety about a child's diabetes risk in the TEDDY study: the potential role of life stress, postpartum depression, and risk perception

Roswith Roth, Kristian Lynch, Barbro Lernmark, Judy Baxter, Tuula Simell, Laura Smith, Ulrica Swartling, Anette-G Ziegler, Suzanne B. Johnson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

ObjectiveTo understand the association between life stress, postpartum depression (PD), maternal perception of her child's risk for type 1 diabetes (T1D) and a mother's anxiety about her child's T1D risk in mothers of genetically at risk children in The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study. MethodsA short form of the state component (SAI) of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, negative life events (LE), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and one question about the child's risk of developing T1D risk perceptions (RP) were given to mothers at the 6-month TEDDY clinic visit. The relationship between the four measures was modeled using multiple regressions. ResultsControlling for sociodemographic factors, significant country differences in SAI, LE, EPDS, and RP emerged. LE - particularly interpersonal LE - had a strong association to maternal anxiety about the baby's risk of diabetes. Both evidence of PD and accurate risk perceptions (RPs) about the child's T1D risk were associated with increased maternal anxiety about the child's T1D risk. ConclusionHeightened maternal anxiety in response to the news that a child is at increased risk for T1D is common. Mothers who have experienced recent negative LE, who experience PD and who accurately understand their child's risk may be particularly vulnerable to high levels of anxiety. The findings reported here need to be confirmed in future prospective studies.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)287-298
JournalPediatric Diabetes
Volume16
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Endocrinology and Diabetes

Free keywords

  • anxiety about baby's diabetes risk
  • negative life events
  • postpartum
  • depression
  • risk perception
  • type 1 diabetes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Maternal anxiety about a child's diabetes risk in the TEDDY study: the potential role of life stress, postpartum depression, and risk perception'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this