Dose-response associations of maternal prenatal noise exposure duration with antepartum depression status

Abstract Background Antepartum depression has been reported to be associated with the intensity of maternal prenatal noise exposure; however, the association between noise exposure duration and the development of antepartum depression has not been established. This study aimed to determine the total and trimester-specific association of prenatal noise exposure duration with the development of antepartum depression.Methods In a prospective pre-birth cohort study, we repeatedly assessed pregnant women’s noise exposure and antepartum depression status during each of the three trimesters. We calculated a cumulative noise exposure score ranging from 0 to 3, with a higher score reflecting higher frequency and longer duration of noise exposure during pregnancy.Results Women who were exposed to noise for ≥ 15 minutes per day had an increased risk of antepartum depression compared with women who were not exposed to noise during pregnancy [odds ratio (OR) = 2.03, 95%CI:1.35, 3.05]. Noise exposure in a specific trimester was associated with higher risk of depression in the same trimester and subsequent trimesters. We observed positive monotonic increases in antepartum depression risk with increasing cumulative noise exposure scores (P for trend < 0.001 for all). Pregnant women with the highest scores had the highest risk of antepartum depression during the first (OR = 1.38, 95%CI:1.10, 1.72), second (OR = 1.66, 95%CI:1.20, 2.30) and third trimesters (OR = 1.89, 95%CI:1.27, 2.81), as well as during the whole pregnancy (OR = 2.12, 95%CI:1.37, 3.28).Conclusions Maternal prenatal noise exposure duration was positively associated with antepartum depression risk in a dose-response manner. It is necessary to develop strategies by which pregnant women can avoid excessive exposure to noise to prevent antepartum depression.