Relationship Between Quality of Life and Depression in Pregnant Women

BACKGROUND Quality of life differs for different people in different situations and is related to one's self-satisfaction with life. Quality of life is affected by health status. OBJECTIVES The current study examined the relationship between quality of life and depression in pregnant women in Kashan city. PATIENTS AND METHODS A Case - control study was performed on 112 depressed pregnant women (Case Group) and 353 Non-depressed pregnant women (Control Group) who referred to the prenatal health care centers of Kashan University of Medical Sciences .They completed Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) to assess the quality of life and the Beck Depression Inventory to assess the level of depressive symptoms. T-test, chi-square and Pearson correlation coefficient statistical tests were used for data analysis. RESULTS The findings showed that there was an inverse relationship between quality of life and depression in pregnancy (P = 0.0001). Average scores in all eight domains of quality of life were significantly lower in depressed pregnant women compared to non- depressed women. The strongest relationship was observed between depression and vitality (r =-0.52, P = 0.0001), mental health (r = -0.50, P = 0.001) and social functioning (r =-0.38, P = 0.001). CONCLUSION Depressed pregnant women had a lower quality of life. The proper management of depression during pregnancy can improve the quality of life in women. It is recommended that antenatal services integrate screening for depression into routine antenatal care.