Tuesday, July 29, 2025

H5N1 found in dairy cattle retains preference for infecting birds, representing low risk to humans

Scientists from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital found that H5N1 viruses in dairy cows are more similar to viruses sampled from birds than influenza viruses that are better at infecting humans

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

H5N1 found in dairy cattle retains preference for infecting birds, representing low risk to humans — image:
New research from St. Jude found flu in dairy cows is currently staying closer to it avian roots instead of mutating to better infect mammals.
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Credit: Courtesy of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Avian influenza virus from the ongoing outbreak in dairy cattle appears to be keeping its bird-infecting features rather than adapting to better infect other mammals, according to a new study from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Since 2024, when scientists first detected H5N1 bird flu in dairy cattle, they have worried that the virus would use the animals as a bridge to mutate and gain the ability to better infect and spread in humans. The St. Jude researchers tested a panel of these viruses from dairy cows, finding they had more molecular and biological features in common with avian than human flu viruses. In addition, the viruses from cows could not transmit through the air between mammals, though direct infection of an individual human from close contact with infected dairy cattle is possible. The findings were published recently in Nature Communications.

“We found that these flu viruses from cow udders are not under a lot of pressure to mutate to better infect other mammals such as humans,” said corresponding author Richard Webby, PhD, St. Jude Department of Host-Microbe Interactions. “For now, the risk of becoming a pandemic threat to humans appears low, though the risk of direct infection for those working with these animal remains high.”

The scientists compared five flu viruses sampled from dairy cows to the closest related strains found in birds and humans. In almost all cases, the bovine viruses more closely resembled the avian influenza strains. The viral proteins from the cow and bird flu strains had the most similar genetic sequences and bound to receptors on avian cells far more efficiently than to receptors found on mammalian cells. Those features indicate that the virus is unlikely to spread well in humans in its current form.

Assessing bovine influenza virus’s risk to humans

While they may not infect humans efficiently, these viruses from dairy cows have already caused at least 41 infections in people through close contact with dairy cattle. The scientists therefore wanted to know if the viruses could spread between humans, so they studied a mammalian model of human influenza infection. The models could not pass the bovine flu to each other through the air. However, these models could spread the virus through direct contact. The lack of airborne transmission indicates a low risk of spreading between humans, but the other experiments suggest that there is still a threat of direct infection. Therefore, the scientists looked to see if current interventions for flu could help treat such infections.

They started by examining the immune molecules in the blood of people vaccinated against avian influenza. “We found that when we tested sera from patients in a clinical trial for this flu vaccine for a different strain, they had some cross-protection against these bovine viruses,” said first author Tom Fabrizio, PhD, St. Jude Department of Host-Microbe Interactions.

If vaccines fail, then physicians will reach for antivirals to treat an infected individual. There are two antivirals used in patients with influenza, so the researchers measured how well both controlled H5N1 infections from the cow viruses in the lab and studied genetic markers of treatment resistance.

“Our results predict that these antivirals should work effectively against these viruses,” Fabrizio said. “We also saw no indication that they’re gaining any ability to resist these drugs.”

While the results are encouraging, they do not mean that these bovine viruses are innocuous. Infected mammalian models still showed many signs of sickness, as have some humans. In addition, the virus continues to evolve, so these results may not apply in the future if a new variant arises.

“Right now, these bovine flu viruses pose a threat at the individual level, specifically to those working closely with infected animals or drinking raw infected milk, rather than the population level,” Webby said. “But we need to remain vigilant for human infections, as each new person infected is another chance for this virus to mutate to better infect and spread among us.”

Authors and funding

The study’s other authors are Ahmed Kandeil, Walter Harrington, Jeremy Jones, Trushar Jeevan, Konstantin Andreev, Patrick Seiler, Jonathan Fogo, Morgan Davis, Jeri Carol Crumpton, John Franks, Jennifer Debeauchamp, Peter Vogel and Elena Govorkova, St. Jude; Scanlon Daniels, Circle H Headquarters LLC; Rebecca Poulson, University of Georgia; Andrew Bowman, The Ohio State University; and Ahmed Kandeil, Center of Scientific Excellence for Influenza Viruses National Research Centre.

The study was supported by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (contract 75N93021C00016) and ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization of St. Jude.

St. Jude Media Relations Contacts

Michael Sheffield
Desk: (901) 595-0221
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media@stjude.org

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats, and cures childhood catastrophic diseases. From cancer to life-threatening blood disorders, neurological conditions, and infectious diseases, St. Jude is dedicated to advancing cures and means of prevention through groundbreaking research and compassionate care. Through global collaborations and innovative science, St. Jude is working to ensure that every child, everywhere, has the best chance at a healthy future. To learn more, visit stjude.org, read St. Jude Progress, a digital magazine, and follow St. Jude on social media @stjuderesearch.

Journal

Nature Communications

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Cells

Article Title

Genotype B3.13 influenza A(H5N1) viruses isolated from dairy cattle demonstrate high virulence in laboratory models, but retain avian virus-like properties

Article Publication Date

28-Jul-2025

SPAGYRIC HERBALISM

Storage process: a new method reduces the acute toxicity of the essential oil of Artemisia argyi H. Lév. & Vaniot by 40%

Xia & He Publishing Inc.

Background and objectives

Artemisia argyi H. Lév. & Vaniot essential oil (AAEO) holds significant pharmacological potential, but its application is constrained by hepatotoxicity. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of reducing AAEO’s toxicity through storage and to evaluate changes in chemical composition, toxicity, and bioactivity.

Methods

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to analyze compositional changes during storage. Zebrafish acute toxicity tests and the liver-specific transgenic zebrafish model Tg(fabp10:EGFP) were used to assess toxicity. Antimicrobial, analgesic, and antioxidant assays evaluated variations in bioactivity.

Results

Over the 150-day storage period, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis identified 39 components. Zebrafish acute toxicity tests showed that the LD50 of AAEO stored for 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 days were 0.10 µL·mL−1, 0.10 µL·mL−1, 0.10 µL·mL−1, 0.11 µL·mL−1, 0.13 µL·mL−1, and 0.14 µL·mL−1, respectively, demonstrating a 40% reduction in acute toxicity after 150 days of storage. Using the liver-specific green fluorescent transgenic Tg(fabp10:EGFP) zebrafish model, the inhibition rates of AAEO on hepatic fluorescence intensity were measured at 68.5%, 43.5%, 42.6%, 37.8%, 34.6%, and 31.9% at different time points, confirming reduced hepatotoxicity after storage. Additionally, the antioxidant and analgesic activities of AAEO were significantly enhanced (p < 0.05) after storage, while the antibacterial activity decreased (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

After storage, AAEO significantly reduces hepatotoxicity, with a 40% decrease in acute toxicity after 150 days. Meanwhile, the antioxidant and analgesic activities of AAEO increase, while its antibacterial activity decreases after storage.

Full text:

https://www.xiahepublishing.com/2835-6357/FIM-2025-00018

The study was recently published in the Future Integrative Medicine.

Future Integrative Medicine (FIM) is the official scientific journal of the Capital Medical University. It is a prominent new journal that promotes future innovation in medicine.It publishes both basic and clinical research, including but not limited to randomized controlled trials, intervention studies, cohort studies, observational studies, qualitative and mixed method studies, animal studies, and systematic reviews.

Journal

Future Integrative Medicine

DOI

10.14218/FIM.2025.00018

Article Title

Storage Process: A New Method Reduces the Acute Toxicity of the Essential Oil of Artemisia argyi H. Lév. & Vaniot by 40%

Article Publication Date

30-Jun-2025

Lavender steps up as a natural preservative in skin-care emulsions

Journal of Dermatologic Science and Cosmetic Technology

Synthetic parabens and formaldehyde releasers are falling out of favour, but keeping creams safe from microbes remains a challenge. The global shift toward “clean-label” cosmetics has left formulators scrambling for milder preservatives. A Research Paper led by Dr Trapali (University of West Attica, Greece), now offers a drop-in solution: the simple pairing of Lavandula angustifolia hydrosol with its own essential oil.

Using standard O/W emulsions, the researchers challenged products with high loads of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. After 12 weeks at 25 °C and 40 °C, emulsions containing 0.05 % hydrosol + 0.05 % essential oil kept counts below 10 CFU/mL—well inside European Pharmacopoeia limits. In contrast, an unpreserved control passed 10⁵ CFU/mL within four weeks.

Six O/W emulsions were stored at 25 °C and 40 °C for 12 weeks. Products containing 0.05 % lavender essential oil plus 0.05 % hydrosol remained below 10² CFU g⁻¹, while an unpreserved control exceeded 10⁴ CFU g⁻¹ by week four. The authors also provide a rapid GC-MS protocol to ensure consistent linalool levels across lavender chemotypes.

The work is the first to document a true synergy between lavender hydrosol and essential oil, outperforming either agent alone.

Journal

Journal of Dermatologic Science and Cosmetic Technology

DOI

10.1016/j.jdsct.2025.100084

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Evaluation of the efficacy of lavender formulations as preservative agents in O/W (oil-in-water) emulsions

Wasps may hold the secret to slowing down the ageing process

Scientists have discovered that jewel wasps can slow down their biological rate of ageing.

University of Leicester

image:
Professor Eamonn Mallon
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Credit: University of Leicester

Scientists have discovered that jewel wasps can slow down their biological rate of ageing.

A study of jewel wasps, known for their distinctive metallic colours, has shown that they can undergo a kind of natural ‘time-out’ as larvae before emerging into adulthood with this surprising advantage.

The groundbreaking study by scientists at the University of Leicester, has now been published in the journal, PNAS. It reveals that this pause in development within the wasp dramatically extends lifespan and decelerates the ticking of the so-called “epigenetic clock” that marks molecular ageing.

Ageing isn’t just about counting birthdays, it’s also a biological process that leaves molecular fingerprints on our DNA. One of the most accurate markers of this process is the epigenetic clock, which tracks chemical changes in DNA, known as methylation, that accumulate with age. But what happens if we alter the course of development itself?

To find out, a team at the University of Leicester including first author PhD student Erin Foley, Dr Christian Thomas, Professor Charalambos Kyriacou, and Professor Eamonn Mallon, from the department of Genetics, Genomics and Cancer Sciences, turned to Nasonia Vitripennis, also known as the jewel wasp.

This tiny insect is becoming a powerful model for ageing research because, unlike many other invertebrates, it has a functioning DNA methylation system, just like humans, and a short lifespan that makes it ideal to study.

The researchers exposed jewel wasp mothers to cold and darkness, triggering a hibernation-like state in their babies called diapause. This natural “pause button” extended the offsprings’ adult lifespan by over a third. Even more remarkably, the wasps that had gone through diapause aged 29% more slowly at the molecular level than their counterparts. Their epigenetic clocks ticked more leisurely, offering the first direct evidence that the pace of biological ageing can be developmentally tuned in an invertebrate.

“It’s like the wasps who took a break early in life came back with extra time in the bank,” said Evolutionary Biology Professor Eamonn Mallon, senior author on the study.

“It shows that ageing isn’t set in stone, it can be slowed by the environment, even before adulthood begins.”

While some animals can slow ageing in dormant states, this study is the first to show that the benefits can persist after development resumes. What’s more, the molecular slowdown wasn’t just a random effect, it was linked to changes in key biological pathways that are conserved across species, including those involved in insulin and nutrient sensing. These same pathways are being targeted by anti-ageing interventions in humans.

What makes this study novel and surprising is that it demonstrates a long-lasting, environmentally triggered slowdown of ageing in a system that’s both simple and relevant to human biology. It offers compelling evidence that early life events can leave lasting marks not just on health, but on the pace of biological ageing itself.

Professor Mallon added: “Understanding how and why ageing happens is a major scientific challenge. This study opens up new avenues for research, not just into the biology of wasps, but into the broader question of whether we might one day design interventions to slow ageing at its molecular roots. With its genetic tools, measurable ageing markers, and clear link between development and lifespan, Nasonia vitripennis is now a rising star in ageing research.

“In short, this tiny wasp may hold big answers to how we can press pause on ageing.”

Funding for the study was provided by The Leverhulme Trust and The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2513020122

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Larval diapause slows adult epigenetic aging in an insect model, Nasonia vitripennis

Article Publication Date

28-Jul-2025

Study finds high levels of social infrastructure lead to healthier communities

Investment in arts industry, high social capital predict communities bucking trend of declining health outcomes

University of Kansas
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LAWRENCE — The United States spends significant amounts of money on health care every year, yet health outcomes have been declining. Scholars have long known that where a person lives, what they do for a living and other factors influence health, but new research from the University of Kansas has found that high levels of social infrastructure are associated with healthier communities.
Despite declining health outcomes across the country, some counties are consistently healthier than others. Using a social determinants of health theoretical framework, the researchers developed a multidimensional measure of social infrastructure and examined its relationship to public health outcomes. They found that communities with higher levels of social infrastructure — measured as social, human and cultural capital — also had better health outcomes.
Poor health outcomes in the United States are often described as a “wicked problem” in public affairs scholarship.
“This is something the U.S. has been going in the wrong direction on for quite a while. When people think about health, they often think of health care,” said Dorothy Daley, professor in the School of Public Affairs & Administration and the Environmental Studies Program at KU, one of the study’s authors. “That is actually just one small part of how healthy a person is. Where you live, where you work, where you go to school all shape your health, and we’re finding cultural capital can as well.”
For the study, researchers assembled and analyzed data from a variety of existing sources. Local health data was drawn from the County Health Ranking and Roadmap project. Social infrastructure measures were constructed using data measuring a range of civic organizations (social capital), educational attainment (human capital) and density of local arts organizations (cultural capital).
“Social infrastructure matters when it comes to public health outcomes, just like other factors we might think of more often like air quality,” said lead author Alisa Moldavanova, an associate professor at the University of Delaware who earned her doctorate from KU. “There was literature showing that people who engage in the arts form connections and have good health outcomes, but there were not studies on community-level outcomes and social infrastructure or its influence on a macro scale.”
The findings indicated that communities with more cultural capital are also more likely to have a higher percentage of residents in good health. The study’s authors say it both helps develop the concept of social infrastructure and its role in public health as well as testing the relationship among public health and social, human and cultural capital pillars of the concept.
The study, written by Moldavanova, Daley and John Pierce, affiliate professor of public affairs & administration at KU, was published in the journal The American Review of Public Administration.
A new dimension to public health policy
Overall, the results show that the percentage of people reporting fair or poor health declines as the density of social, human and creative cultural capital increases. Social, human and cultural capital are results of multigenerational public and private investment, and their association with better health outcomes suggest policy should support all three to help achieve better public health, the authors wrote.
Often, especially in times of limited budgets, localities tend to focus on infrastructure like transit, bridges and utilities. And in terms of health care, policy often focuses on numbers of hospitals, beds available and numbers of health care professionals. While all of those are important, the findings show long-term community investment in social infrastructure, including arts and cultural capital, can have long-term, wide-ranging benefits, including improved public health.
“We should be mindful as policymakers of supporting cultural infrastructure,” Moldavanova said. “It provides a sense of well-being at the community level. Even in communities without top-notch hospitals, the connection has positive effects. We shouldn’t be only looking at hospitals and physicians when thinking about health outcomes.”

Journal

The American Review of Public Administration

DOI

10.1177/02750740251346805

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

What Does it Take to Have a Healthy Community? Exploring the Role of Social Infrastructure in Shaping Public Health

How does the immune system prepare for breastfeeding?

Salk researchers find immune cells travel from the gut to the mammary gland to support lactation

Salk Institute

Authors — image:
From left: Abigail Jaquish and Deepshika Ramanan.
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Credit: Salk Institute

LA JOLLA (July 29, 2025)—Of the 3.6 million babies born in the United States each year, around 80 percent begin breastfeeding in their first month of life. Breastfeeding has known benefits for both mother and child, reducing maternal risk of breast and ovarian cancers, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure, while simultaneously supporting the baby’s nutrition and immune system. But because pregnancy and lactation have been historically understudied, we still don’t understand the science behind many of these benefits.

Salk Institute immunologists are changing that—starting with a map of immune cell migration before and during lactation. Using both animal research and human milk and tissue samples, the researchers discovered that immune cells called T cells are abundant in the mammary glands during pregnancy and breastfeeding, with some relocating from the gut. These cells likely support both maternal and infant health.

The findings, published in Nature Immunology on July 29, 2025, may help explain the advantages of breastfeeding, prompt new solutions for mothers unable to breastfeed, and inform dietary decisions that enhance breast milk production and quality.

“By investigating how immune cells change during pregnancy and lactation, we were able to find lots of exciting things—notably, that there’s a significant increase in immune cells in mammary tissue during lactation, and the increase in immune cells requires microbes,” says Assistant Professor Deepshika Ramanan, senior author of the study.

What we know: Babies get gut bacteria and antibodies from mother’s milk

Most breastfeeding studies focus on the relationship between milk content and infant health. These studies, including previous work by Ramanan, have shown that babies receive important gut bacteria and antibodies from their mother through the breast milk, which lays a critical foundation for their developing immune system. Still, much less is known about the changes to the mother’s body during this time.

Some features of the mammary gland immune landscape can be inferred from milk content research. For example, the presence of antibodies in breast milk means that antibody-producing immune cells called B cells must be present. But few have looked directly at immune cell activity within the mammary gland itself.

What’s new: Mom’s gut microbes boost immune cells in mammary glands

“What’s really exciting is that we didn’t just find more T cells in mammary glands, we found that some of these T cells were actually coming from the gut,” says first author Abigail Jaquish, a graduate student researcher in Ramanan’s lab. “We think they are likely supporting mammary tissue in the same way they typically support intestinal tissue.”

The researchers began their study by looking at mouse mammary gland tissues at various stages pre- to post-lactation. By comparing these samples, they discovered that three different types of T cells were growing in number: CD4+, CD8αα+, and CD8αβ+ T cells.

This was curious to the team, because these T cell subtypes are members of a special immune cell class called intraepithelial lymphocytes. Intraepithelial lymphocytes live in mucosal tissues—soft tissues like the intestines or lungs that are exposed to substances from the outside world. Because these tissues are more vulnerable, intraepithelial lymphocytes act as “resident" immune cells, stationed on-site and ready for action.

The researchers noticed these CD4+, CD8αα+, and CD8αβ+ T cells were lining the mammary epithelium the same way they would line the epithelium of other mucosal tissues. What’s more, these T cell subtypes bore gut-resident surface protein fingerprints—pointing to T cell migration between the intestines and mammary glands. Together, these changes were facilitating a mammary gland transition from non-mucosal to mucosal tissue in preparation for lactation, where it would become exposed to the outside environment, including microbes from the mother’s skin and the infant’s mouth.

But was this also happening in humans? An investigation into databases of human breast tissue and milk samples from the Human Milk Institute at UC San Diego revealed yes—human equivalents of these intraepithelial lymphocytes showed the same trends.

The team returned to the mouse model with one final question: Are these mammary gland T cells impacted by microbes the same way they would be in the gut? They compared the mammary glands of mice living in normal and germ-free environments and found that all three T cells subtypes were expressed far more in mice exposed to microbes. This finding suggests that maternal microbes modulate the number of T cells created during lactation, which in turn could impact the strength of the mammary gland immune barrier.

Altogether, T cell production ramped up with the help of microbes, T cells relocated from the gut to mammary glands, and the mammary glands switched from non-mucosal to mucosal tissues.

Looking ahead: What affects this gut-breast immune axis, and thus influences our health for generations?

“We now know so much more about how the maternal immune system is changing during this critical time,” says Ramanan, “and we can now use this information to start exploring the direct effects of these immune cells on both maternal and infant health.”

The researchers hypothesize that hormones influence these many changes, and that the overall goal is protecting the mother from the outside world and related infection. But how they influence lactogenesis, milk quality, and maternal and baby health is the next case to crack.

“There’s so much more research to be done in this area—we’re just getting started,” adds Jaquish. “If we’re seeing a connection between the gut and the mammary gland, what other interactions might be happening in the body? And what else could be impacting the milk that we’re passing on to our offspring?”

Understanding maternal immune cell changes during pregnancy and lactation can impact generations, as mother to child immune and microbiome transfers occur again and again. The insights may also lead to solutions for mothers who cannot breastfeed, either with therapies that help support natural milk production or with more sophisticated formulas that provide some of the same immune support. As the connection between the gut and mammary gland becomes clearer, scientists could one day suggest diets to promote mammary and maternal health, as well as optimize milk quality.

Other authors include Eleni Phung and Isabelle Bursulaya of Salk; Xutong Gong, Silvia Galvan-Pena, Ian Magill, Diane Mathis, and Christophe Benoist of Harvard Medical School; Pilar Baldominos, Eleonara Marina, and Judith Agudo of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Kerri Bertrand and Christina Chambers of UC San Diego; Andrés R. Muñoz-Rojas of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; and ImmgenT consortium members.

The work was supported by the Damon Runyon Dale F. Frey Award, UC San Diego PiBS T32, National Institutes of Health (RO1-AI150686, R24-072073, NCI CCSG P30 CA014195, NIA San Diego Nathan Shock Center P30 AG068635, NCI CCSG: P30 CA01495, S10 OD023689, S10 OD034268), Chapman Foundation, and Helmsley Charitable Trust.

About the Salk Institute for Biological Studies:

Unlocking the secrets of life itself is the driving force behind the Salk Institute. Our team of world-class, award-winning scientists pushes the boundaries of knowledge in areas such as neuroscience, cancer research, aging, immunobiology, plant biology, computational biology, and more. Founded by Jonas Salk, developer of the first safe and effective polio vaccine, the Institute is an independent, nonprofit research organization and architectural landmark: small by choice, intimate by nature, and fearless in the face of any challenge. Learn more at www.salk.edu.

Virgin (left) and lactating (right) mouse mammary gland imaging shows the dramatic structural changes that occur to facilitate milk production including cell proliferation and the formation of milk ducts.

Credit

Salk Institute

Journal

Nature Immunology

DOI

10.1038/s41590-025-02218-3

Article Title

'Mammary intraepithelial lymphocytes and intestinal inputs shape T cell dynamics in lactogenesis

Article Publication Date

29-Jul-2025

Prevalence and related factors of antenatal depression in 11 provinces and cities of China: a 100,000 population-based study

Science China Press

This study is led by Prof. Hefeng Huang and Prof. Yanting Wu (Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Institute of Reproduction and Development, Fudan University).

Antenatal depression represents a major contributor to maternal morbidity during the perinatal period. This condition often persists into the postnatal period and may escalate in severity, thereby exacerbating negative outcomes for both mothers and infants. Current prevalence data in China remain limited, underscoring the urgent need for large-scale multi-center studies. To develop effective preventive and management strategies for mental health across the perinatal period from pregnancy to the first year postpartum, a clear understanding of antenatal depression prevalence rates and related factors that are culturally specific is required.

This study was a cross-sectional study incorporating 100,200 pregnant women across four geographical regions of China (27 public hospitals from 11 provinces, metropolises, and autonomous areas) including the East (Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Anhui), the South (Guangdong, Hunan, and Hainan), the North (Liaoning and Henan), and the West (Xinjiang and Shaanxi) from December 2019 to March 2023. The survey included questions related to demographic factors, lifestyle behaviors, and supportive resources. Antenatal depressive symptoms were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in the third trimester of pregnancy. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were derived from the multiple logistic regression analysis to examine the association between various exposures and depressive symptoms outcome, where an EPDS score>9 was classified as possible depression for screening activities and an EPDS >12 was classified as probable depression for management.

The total prevalence of possible depression was 25.8% and 11.4% for probable depression. The highest prevalence of possible depression was in the North region at 30.8% and 15.7% for probable depression. The lowest possible and probable depression prevalence rates were in the East region at 24.5% and 10.6%, respectively. Young maternal age, low education levels and family income, unemployment, living alone, unmarried/divorced status, unintended pregnancy, multiple pregnancy, insufficient social support, tobacco/alcohol use, and poor sleep quality were related factors for antenatal depression. Notably, adequate partner support may have a modifying effect on the relationship between depressive symptoms and those non-modifiable risk factors, including maternal educational levels, employment status, age, and family income.

This study is the largest and first to provide a detailed analysis of antenatal depression, making significant contributions to the epidemiological literature on antenatal depression in China. The findings indicate that over one-quarter of pregnant women in China experience depressive symptoms. Socioeconomic factors play a crucial role in the development of antenatal depression, while family support—particularly from partners—exhibits protective effects. Partner support emerges as a key intervention target for reducing the risk of antenatal depression.

Journal

Science Bulletin

DOI

10.1016/j.scib.2025.06.031

Fig. 2 (a) Factors associated with antenatal depression among pregnant women and stratified analyses by region and year using multiple logistic regression models. (b–e) Prevalence of antenatal depressive symptoms stratified by maternal education levels, employment status, maternal age, and family income in partner support subgroups.