Objective To investigate the effects of maternal and paternal
depression on the risk for preterm birth.
Design National cohort study.
Setting Medical Birth Register of Sweden, 2007–2012.
Population A total of 366 499 singleton births with linked
information for parents’ filled drug prescriptions and hospital care.
Methods Prenatal depression was defined as having filled a
prescription for an antidepressant drug or having been in
outpatient or inpatient hospital care with a diagnosis of
depression from 12 months before conception until 24 weeks after
conception. An indication of depression after 12 months with no
depression was defined as ‘new depression’, whereas all other cases
were defined as ‘recurrent depression’.
Main outcome measures Odds ratios (ORs) for very preterm
(22–31 weeks of gestation) and moderately preterm (32–36 weeks
of gestation) births were estimated using multinomial logistic
regression models.
Results After adjustment for maternal depression and
sociodemographic covariates, new paternal prenatal depression
was associated with very preterm birth [adjusted OR (aOR)
1.38, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.04–1.83], whereas
recurrent paternal depression was not associated with an
increased risk of preterm birth. Both new and recurrent
maternal prenatal depression were associated with an increased
risk of moderately preterm birth (aOR 1.34, 95% CI 1.22–1.46,
and aOR 1.42, 95% CI 1.32–1.53, respectively).
Conclusions New paternal and maternal prenatal depression are
potential risk factors for preterm birth. Mental health problems in
both parents should be addressed for the prevention of preterm
birth.