Evidence mapPaperPMID 41316875Full record

ArticleMaternal & child nutrition2026

Maternal Diet Quality and Third Trimester Depression: Insights From a Nepali Birth Cohort Study.

Kalpana Chaudhary, Shaun Ranade, Pratiksha Paudel, Bhawana Shrestha, Shija Panjiyar, Shraddha Thapaliya, Reena Koju, Abha Shrestha, Prasanna Rai, Bandana Paneru and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Maternal & child nutrition, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Kalpana ChaudharyDepartment of Public Health, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Dhulikhel, Bagmati Province, Nepal.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4882-6496
Shaun RanadeDepartment of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4014-972X
Pratiksha PaudelDepartment of Public Health, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Dhulikhel, Bagmati Province, Nepal.
Bhawana ShresthaDepartment of Research and Development, Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu University Hospital, Dhulikhel, Bagmati Province, Nepal.
Shija PanjiyarDepartment of Public Health, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Dhulikhel, Bagmati Province, Nepal.
Shraddha ThapaliyaDepartment of Research and Development, Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu University Hospital, Dhulikhel, Bagmati Province, Nepal.
Reena KojuDepartment of Research and Development, Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu University Hospital, Dhulikhel, Bagmati Province, Nepal.
Abha ShresthaDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dhulikhel Hospital, Kathmandu University Hospital, Dhulikhel, Bagmati Province, Nepal.
Prasanna RaiDepartment of Public Health, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Dhulikhel, Bagmati Province, Nepal.
Bandana PaneruDepartment of Public Health, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Dhulikhel, Bagmati Province, Nepal.
Namuna ShresthaDepartment of Research and Development, Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu University Hospital, Dhulikhel, Bagmati Province, Nepal.
Archana ShresthaDepartment of Public Health, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Dhulikhel, Bagmati Province, Nepal.
Shristi RawalDepartment of Clinical and Preventive Nutrition Sciences, School of Health Professions, Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2587-4022

Funding

Northern Pacific Global Health Leadership, Education, and Development for Early-career Researchers (NPGH LEADERs)D43TW009345 · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2025 to 2025
$1.6M
FIC NIH HHS D43 TW009345
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Maternal diet quality and perinatal depression significantly impact maternal and child health, yet their relationship remains underexplored in low-resource settings. This cross-sectional study examined the association between overall diet quality and risk of depression during the third trimester among 296 pregnant women receiving antenatal care at Dhulikhel Hospital, Nepal (August 2023-January 2024). Depression risk was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), with scores ≥ 12 indicating elevated symptoms. Diet quality was measured using an adapted Nepali version of the 23-item PrimeScreen questionnaire, generating a Prime Diet Quality Score (PDQS) ranging from 0 to 46. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between PDQS and depression risk, adjusting for age, education, ethnicity, occupation, parity, gestational week, physical activity, and pre-pregnancy BMI. The mean PDQS was 24.7 (SD = 3.1), and 22.3% of participants screened positive for depression. Each 1-point increase in PDQS was associated with 16% lower odds of depression (adjusted OR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.70-0.90; p = 0.002). These findings suggest that higher overall diet quality is associated with a reduced likelihood of third trimester depression. Further longitudinal studies are warranted to assess causality and inform targeted nutritional interventions. If supported by further studies, incorporating brief dietary assessments like PrimeScreen into antenatal care may potentially offer a feasible strategy to identify women with suboptimal diet quality and co-occurring depressive symptoms in low- and middle-income countries.

Indexed as

DepressionDietMaternal Nutritional Physiological PhenomenaPregnancy ComplicationsPregnancy Trimester, ThirdAdultBirth CohortCohort StudiesCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansNepalPregnancyPrenatal CareYoung Adultdiet qualitymaternal healthmaternal nutritionmental healthperinatal depressionpregnancy

Identifiers

PMID41316875
PMCPMC12663694

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.