Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Oct;34(10):877-887.
doi: 10.1002/da.22637. Epub 2017 May 4.

Maternal choline status during pregnancy, but not that of betaine, is related to antenatal mental well-being: The growing up in Singapore toward healthy outcomes cohort

Linde van Lee  1 , Phaik Ling Quah  1 , Seang Mei Saw  2 , Fabian K P Yap  3   4 , Keith M Godfrey  5   6 , Yap Seng Chong  1   7 , Michael J Meaney  1   8 , Helen Chen  9 , Mary Foong-Fong Chong  1   2   10
Affiliations

Maternal choline status during pregnancy, but not that of betaine, is related to antenatal mental well-being: The growing up in Singapore toward healthy outcomes cohort

Linde van Lee et al. Depress Anxiety. 2017 Oct.

Abstract

Background: Choline and betaine status have previously been associated with symptoms of depression. However, the relation of maternal plasma choline and betaine concentrations in pregnancy to peripartum maternal mood is unknown.

Methods: Maternal plasma choline and betaine concentrations (μmol/L) were measured at 26-28 weeks gestation in the Growing Up in Singapore Toward healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) mother-offspring cohort. Participants completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS) at 26-28 weeks gestation (n = 949) and at 3 months postnatal (n = 689): higher scores are indicative of more symptoms of anxiety and depression. Multivariate linear regression models were used to estimate the association of choline and betaine with ante- and postnatal mental well-being adjusting for covariates.

Results: Mean (SD) antenatal plasma choline and betaine concentrations were 9.2 μmol/L (1.6) and 13.1 μmol/L (2.7), respectively. Plasma choline concentrations were positively associated with antenatal depressive (β = .24 EPDS score [95% CI: 0.05-0.43] per μmol/L] and anxiety symptoms (β = .46 STAI-state score [95% CI: 0.03-0.88] per μmol/L) adjusting for covariates. Plasma betaine concentrations were not associated with antenatal depression or anxiety symptoms. No associations were observed between pregnancy choline or betaine and postnatal mental well-being.

Conclusion: This study suggests that higher maternal plasma choline status during pregnancy is associated with more symptoms of antenatal depression and anxiety, whereas plasma betaine concentrations showed no associations. No associations were observed for postnatal mental well-being. Prospective studies are required to replicate these findings and further examine the direction of causality and possible biological mechanisms.

Keywords: anxiety; choline; mental well-being; nutritional status; peripartum period; pregnancy depression.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflict of interest: KMG and YSC have received reimbursement for speaking at conferences sponsored by companies selling nutritional products. These authors are part of an academic consortium that has received research funding from Abbot Nutrition, Nestec, and Danone. None of the other authors report any potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of study participants at 26-28 weeks of gestation and at 3 months postpartum
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Andersson L, Sundstrom-Poromaa I, Wulff M, Astrom M, Bixo M. Implications of antenatal depression and anxiety for obstetric outcome. Obstet Gynecol. 2004;104:467–476. doi: 10.1097/01.AOG.0000135277.04565.e9. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Anglin RE, Rosebush PI, Noseworthy MD, Tarnopolsky M, Mazurek MF. Psychiatric symptoms correlate with metabolic indices in the hippocampus and cingulate in patients with mitochondrial disorders. Transl Psychiatry. 2012;2:e187. doi: 10.1038/tp.2012.107. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bjelland I, Tell GS, Vollset SE, Konstantinova S, Ueland PM. Choline in anxiety and depression: the Hordaland Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;90:1056–1060. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.27493. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Blusztajn JK, Wurtman RJ. Choline and cholinergic neurons. Science. 1983;221:614–620. - PubMed
    1. Brown ES, Gabrielson B. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of citicoline for bipolar and unipolar depression and methamphetamine dependence. J Affect Disord. 2012;143:257–260. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2012.05.006. - DOI - PubMed