Abstract
Background/Objectives: Pregnancy is associated with different biological, physiological, psychological and social changes, and often with depressive and anxiety symptoms. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has a major role in neuroplasticity, stress re-sponses, cognition, and various psychiatric disorders including depression and anxiety. The results on the relationship between BDNF and depressive or anxiety symptoms in pregnancy are inconsistent. Study aimed to evaluate the association between BDNF with presence and severity of depressive and anxiety symptoms in pregnant women. Methods: Study included 187 medication free, age-matched women without diagnosis of psychiat-ric disorder: 88 women in their 37th week of pregnancy and 99 control nonpregnant women. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were evaluated using the Beck Depression In-ventory (BDI) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) subdivided into STAI-State anxiety and STAI-Trait anxiety. Plasma BDNF was determined by ELISA. Results: Pregnant women had significantly lower plasma BDNF concentrations and a significantly higher BDI and STAI scores compared to controls. Higher trait anxiety symptoms were related to significantly higher plasma BDNF concentration in pregnant women. No significant as-sociation was found between plasma BDNF concentration and the severity of depressive symptoms, or the severity of state anxiety symptoms. Conclusion: This study confirmed reduced BDNF concentration, and more pronounced depressive and anxious symptoms in pregnant vs. nonpregnant women. Depressive symptom’s severity was not related to plasma BDNF concentration in pregnant women. Positive relationship between BDNF and trait anxiety symptoms in pregnancy should be confirmed in larger samples, but could indicate vulnerability to the possible development of postnatal mental disorders.