{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,8]],"date-time":"2026-10-08T20:00:03Z","timestamp":1791489603397,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"23","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,27]],"date-time":"2023-11-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1701043200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Fondation Lucie et Andr\u00e9 Chagnon"},{"name":"Institut de la Statistique du Qu\u00e9bec"},{"name":"Minist\u00e8re de l\u2019\u00c9ducation et de l\u2019Enseignement sup\u00e9rieur"},{"name":"Minist\u00e8re de la Famille"},{"name":"Institut de recherche Robert-Sauv\u00e9 en sant\u00e9 et en s\u00e9curit\u00e9 du travail"},{"name":"Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine"},{"name":"Minist\u00e8re de la Sant\u00e9 et des Services sociaux du Qu\u00e9bec"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Maternal health represents an important predictor of child development; yet it often goes unnoticed during pediatric visits. Previous work suggests that mental state affects parenting. The relationship between infant exposure to maternal depressive symptoms suggests conflicting findings on physical growth. Body mass index (BMI) has not been rigorously examined across development. Using a prospective-longitudinal birth cohort of 2120 infants (50.7% boys), we estimated the prospective relationship between symptoms of maternal depressive symptoms at 5 months postpartum and later BMI in typically developing children. We hypothesized that maternal depressive symptom severity would predict later BMI through to adolescence. Mothers self-reported depressive symptoms at 5 months. Child BMI was measured by a trained research assistant at ages 6, 8, 10, 13, and 15 years. We estimated a series of sex-stratified regressions in which BMI was linearly regressed on maternal symptoms, while controlling for potential pre-existing\/concurrent individual and family confounding factors. Boys born to mothers with more severe depressive symptoms at age 5 months had a significantly lower BMI than other boys at subsequent ages. There were no such associations observed for girls. Maternal depressive symptoms were prospectively associated with later BMI for sons and not daughters, predicting risk of faltering in growth through to adolescence. Health practitioners should routinely assess maternal psychological functioning during pediatric visits to optimize parent and child flourishment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph20237117","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,27]],"date-time":"2023-11-27T11:54:48Z","timestamp":1701086088000},"page":"7117","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Prospective Associations between Maternal Depressive Symptoms during Early Infancy and Growth Deficiency from Childhood to Adolescence"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7323-1959","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Linda S.","family":"Pagani","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psycho-Education, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada"},{"name":"School Environment Research Group, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada"},{"name":"Sainte-Justine\u2019s Pediatric Hospital Research Center, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1054-8809","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kianoush","family":"Harandian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psycho-Education, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada"},{"name":"School Environment Research Group, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Beatrice","family":"Necsa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psycho-Education, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada"},{"name":"School Environment Research Group, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marie-Jos\u00e9e","family":"Harbec","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut National de Sant\u00e9 Publique du Qu\u00e9bec, Montreal, QC H2P 1E2, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"332","DOI":"10.1002\/wps.20778","article-title":"Supporting psychological well-being around the time of birth: What can we learn from maternity care?","volume":"19","author":"Alderdice","year":"2020","journal-title":"World Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"973","DOI":"10.1016\/S2215-0366(16)30284-X","article-title":"Epidemiology of maternal depression, risk factors, and child outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries","volume":"3","author":"Gelaye","year":"2016","journal-title":"Lancet Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"1745506519844044","article-title":"Consequences of maternal postpartum depression: A systematic review of maternal and infant outcomes","volume":"15","author":"Slomian","year":"2019","journal-title":"Women\u2019s Health"},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2017). 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