24-hour time-use behaviors and maternal depressive symptoms during early pregnancy: Compositional data analysis

In 255 pregnant participants with pre-pregnancy BMI ≥25 kg/m2, 24-hour time-use behaviors (MVPA, LPA, inactivity, sleep) were not significantly associated with EPDS depressive symptoms.

• Why it matters: Prior work often studied single behaviors in isolation, despite their co-dependence across a full day, leaving uncertainty about how combined 24-hour patterns relate to antenatal depressive symptoms.
• What they did: Using baseline HABIT trial data, participants wore an ActiGraph for seven days; compositional data analysis with isometric log-ratio transformation modeled associations with EPDS, adjusting for age, socioeconomic status, and cohabitation.
• The result: Marginal mean EPDS scores changed minimally across specified behavior durations (e.g., MVPA 10 vs 40 min: 6.51 vs 5.97; sleep 300 vs 480 min: 5.41 vs 5.81), implying limited linkage in this early-pregnancy, relatively active group.

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