(P12-007-23) Association Between Chocolate Consumption and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale Score of Pregnant and Maternal Women During COVID-19 Pandemic

Objectives: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the association between the frequency of dark chocolate consumption and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score among pregnant and maternal women

Methods: Pregnant and maternal Women completed an online survey (07/27/2020-07/30/2021) that was included questionnaire of sociodemographic, EPDS questions, and semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Inclusion criteria were pregnant women with singleton pregnancy or maternal women, 18 years old or older, and use English as the primary language. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 28 including mean and standard deviation for descriptive analyses, multiple linear regression to examine the association (beta coefficient with 95% CI) between dark chocolate consumption and EPDS score and adjusted potential confounding factors.

Results: The number of participants who completed the survey was 47 people, pregnant women (n = 16) and breastfeeding mother (n =31). The mean of age and BMI were 30.13 ± 3.59 years and 27.95 ± 6.19, respectively. Majority of participants were White (91.5%), had secondary level (12-16 years) of education (53.2%), not working (46.2%), and had $85,000 - $149,999 of annual income (36.2%). Mean of EPDS score was 5.89 ± 3.79. The participants who “never or less than once a month” in dark chocolate consumption showed highest mean of EPDS score (6.78 ±4.12), followed by “once a week” and (5.83 ± 3.71) and “1-3 per month” (5.46 ± 3.57). ). After adjusting age, highest education level, family income, and BMI, frequency of dark chocolate consumption was not associated with EPDS score [β (95% CI) = 8.864, p=0.84).

Conclusions: No significant association of frequency dark chocolate consumption and EPDS score.

Funding Sources: LPDP (Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education)