ArticleJCPP advances2025
Do the early social environment and persistent peripartum depressive symptoms shape toddlers' expressive language?
Article in JCPP advances, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Extensive research suggests that peripartum depression is a risk factor for children's early language development. Yet, previous research on this association shows mixed results, often lacking information on the persistence of depression and the social context. This population-based cohort study addresses this gap by investigating the longitudinal influence of peripartum depressive symptoms on toddlers' expressive language. Specifically, we systematically examined the influences of timing, severity, and persistence of depressive symptoms during pregnancy and the first 6 months postpartum on child expressive language development, while accounting for important social and environmental factors. Methods: This study is part of a prospective, population-based investigation conducted within the follow-up Uppsala Birth Cohort study in Uppsala, Sweden. The final analysis included 2176 mother-infant dyads (1122 boys, mean age = 18.3 months, SD = 0.7). Perinatal depressive symptoms were assessed at gestational weeks 17 and 32 and at postpartum six weeks and six months, using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (cut-off >12). At 6 months postpartum, mothers were also invited to fill out the Postnatal Bonding Difficulty Questionnaire. At 18 months postpartum, mothers completed the Language Development Survey, which assessed expressive vocabulary and word combinations. Multivariable linear regression models were applied to examine the associations between peripartum depressive symptoms and child language development. Adjusted models incorporated background and social context variables to account for potential confounding factors. Results: Depressive symptoms during prenatal and postnatal periods were not significantly associated with language outcomes. Our final model identified negative associations with second-born status, family history of late talkers, countryside residence, and maternal age at childbirth. Positive correlations were found for sex (girl) and pregnancy length. The final model explained 8.4% of the variance ( Conclusions: Our findings found no negative link between peripartum depressive symptoms and expressive language in toddlers, even after considering timing, severity, and persistence. While no immediate direct negative influence of peripartum depressive symptoms was observed, the long-term cumulative effects later in life remain unclear.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.