The role of serum oxytocin levels in the second trimester in regulating prenatal anxiety and depression: A sample from Shanghai Maternal-Child Pairs Cohort study

Background Recent research suggested that oxytocin might be associated with prenatal anxiety or depression. Also, our previous study indicated that resilience could buffer the effect of stress on prenatal anxiety and depression, which is a kind of psychological adjustment ability to stress in life. The effects of oxytocin and resilience are supposed to be similar but no study was carried out to find the association between them. Current evidence on the effect of oxytocin on prenatal mental health were with small sample size and equivocal results, especially with a lack of studies in Chinese pregnant women. Aims To investigate the relationship between oxytocin and resilience, and its role in regulating prenatal anxiety and depression among Chinese women. Methods The study was based on a sub-sample of the Shanghai Maternal-Child Pairs Cohort (Shanghai MCPC) by stratified random sampling. A total of 632 participants completed blood collection for serum oxytocin measurement and questionnaires pertaining to early pregnancy stress and resilience in the second trimester, which were assessed by the Life Event Scale for Pregnancy Women (LESPW) and the revised Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA), respectively. Prenatal anxiety and depression were assessed by Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and the Center for Epidemiological Survey, Depression Scale (CES-D), respectively, at the third trimester. Correlation analysis and stratified linear regression analyses were conducted to understand the role of oxytocin in regulating prenatal anxiety and depression. Results The concentration of serum oxytocin in the second trimester ranged from 98.14 pg⋅ml−1 to 197.28 pg⋅ml−1, and there was no significant difference between different gestational age (r = 0.024, P = 0.579). The association between stress and prenatal anxiety was stronger in high oxytocin group than that in low oxytocin group, with B value of 3.338 and 2.638, respectively, after adjusting for residence, educational level, family income and parity. The same effect was found in the association between stress and prenatal depression, with B value of 2.360 and 2.060, respectively. However, it was not significantly associated with early pregnancy stress (Z = 1.933, P = 0.630), prenatal anxiety (Z = 1.387, P = 0.165), prenatal depression (Z = −0.027, P = 0.978), nor resilience (F = 1.282, P = 0.280). Limitations The existence of recall bias and restricted residential areas of the participants may limit the extrapolation of the study. Also, unsynchronized sampling timing of the oxytocin and psychological resilience measures is another limitation. Conclusions Serum oxytocin levels in the second trimester had an effect of modification between early pregnancy stress and prenatal anxiety and depression. Pregnant women with high oxytocin in the second trimester should receive more attention and further study is needed on the mechanism of oxytocin for the mental health of pregnant women.