Increased sugar-sweetened beverage use tendency in pregnancy positively associates with peripartum Edinburgh postpartum depression scores

The association among sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) consumption, addiction and depression in adults, children and adolescents is widely reported. Dieting patterns during pregnancy is complicated by maternal fetal concerns. Specifically, restrained use of SSB might be potentially a source of perinatal distress. The current study modified diagnostic criteria for Substance Use Disorder (SUD) in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), into SSB-specific questions to assess SSB use tendency. Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scores (EPDS) is used to assess maternal distress during pregnancy. One hundred and ninety-six consecutive pregnant women receiving antenatal care at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital were invited to participate in this study. In the first trimester, 46.6% of women had none or 1 DSM-5 symptom, 27.0% had 2–3 symptoms, while 26.4% had ≥ 4 symptoms. The mean numbers of DSM-5 symptoms in each trimester were found to be 2.5 ± 2.25, 2.6 ± 2.45, 2.4 ± 2.43 for the first, second and third trimester, respectively, p = 0.750. While EPDS score showed no difference among DSM-5 symptoms 0–1, 2–3 and ≥ 4 groups in the first trimester (8.1 ± 4.59, 8.4 ± 5.00, 8.8 ± 4.82, p = 0.343), women with ≥ 4 DSM-symptoms was found significantly higher EPDS scores than those with < 4 DSM-symptoms in the second (7.2 ± 4.81, 7.7 ± 4.98, 8.8 ± 4.33, p = 0.030) and third trimester (6.8 ± 5.00, 7.2 ± 4.63, 8.7 ± 5.24, p = 0.019). The relationship remained significant after adjusting for covariates including actual SSB amount consumed (adjusted β = 0.25 with 95% confident interval (CI) 0.04–0.45 and 0.21 with 95% CI 0.04–0.38 for the second and third trimesters, respectively). Overall, the study is the first to characterize the positive relationship between SSB use tendency and antenatal distress in pregnancy, independent of actual SSB amount consumed. The observational nature of the study design precludes inferences of its underlying socio-psychomotor mechanisms, although restrained SSB use in pregnancy is suspected to contribute. The novel employment of modified SSB-specific DSM-5 scores and EPDS in this setting is feasible and further validation is promising. With better understanding and awareness, pregnant women with increased SSB use tendency should be properly counseled with special attention to their mental state.