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Maternal, Perinatal and Pediatric Nutrition (Poster Session)

(P27-075-25) Maternal Diet Quality and Third-Trimester Depression: Findings From a Nepali Birth Cohort Study

Monday, June 2, 2025
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM ET
Location: Poster Board A-76

    Presenting Author(s)

  • SR

    Shristi Rawal, PhD (she/her/hers)

    Assistant Professor
    Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
    Philadelphia, PA, Pennsylvania, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • KC

    Kalpana Chaudhary

    Institute for Implementation Science and Health, Nepal

  • PP

    Pratiksha Paudel

    Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu University Hospital, Nepal

  • SR

    Shaun Ranade

    Fulbright-Fogarty Fellowship, United States

  • BS

    Bhawana Shrestha

    Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu University Hospital, Nepal

  • SP

    Shija Panjiyar

    Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Nepal

  • ST

    Shraddha Thapaliya

    Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu University Hospital, Nepal

  • RK

    Reena Koju

    Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu University Hospital, Nepal

  • AS

    Abha Shrestha, MD

    Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu University Hospital, Nepal

  • AS

    Archana Shrestha, PhD

    Associate Professor
    Department of Public Health, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Nepal, Institute for Implementation Science and Health, Nepal, Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health
    Dhulikhel, Bagmati, Nepal

Disclosure(s):
Shristi Rawal, PhD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: To examine the association between diet quality and depression during the third trimester of pregnancy in a cohort of Nepali women receiving antenatal care at a community-based periurban hospital in Dhulikhel, Nepal.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis utilized data from the ongoing Dhulikhel Hospital Birth Cohort Study, which enrolled 313 pregnant women in their third trimester. Participants were interviewed in person during this period, and depression was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), with scores above 12 indicating depression. Diet quality was evaluated using the adapted Nepali version of the 21-item PrimeScreen questionnaire, which scores (range: 0–42) diet based on the frequency of consumption of 21 food group components, with higher scores indicating better overall diet quality. A logistic regression model was used to examine the association between diet quality and depression, adjusting for apriori sociodemographic and clinical covariates.

Results: Participants averaged 27.1 years old (SD = 4.8); 80% identified as Hindu, with 36.6% Brahmin/Chhetri and 29.4% Janjati. The mean Prime Diet Quality Score (PDQS) was 24.1 (SD=3.1) out of the highest possible score of 42, and the prevalence of depression in the cohort was 21.1%. After adjusting for age, education, ethnicity, occupation, parity, and week of gestation, an inverse association was observed between overall diet quality and depression in the 3rd trimester. Specifically, each unit increase in the PDQS was associated with a 16% reduction in the odds of experiencing depression (adjusted OR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.76-0.93, p< 0.001).

Conclusions: Higher diet quality was significantly associated with a reduced likelihood of depression in the third trimester among a cohort of Nepali women. Prospective studies are warranted to determine whether improving diet quality in early pregnancy could serve as a modifiable factor for preventing depression during pregnancy.

Funding Sources: None