Document Type

Article

Abstract

Purpose of Review

There is increasing evidence that several environmental exposures may pose a risk for depression, including maternal depression. We conducted a scoping review of epidemiological evidence regarding maternal exposure to environmental chemicals and perinatal depression.

Recent Findings

We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Dimensions, and Scopus, and summarized the findings from 27 articles that examined environmental chemical exposures and maternal depression. Studies of ambient air pollutants (N = 11) showed exposure to NO2 and PM10 to be most consistently associated with antenatal or postnatal depression. Studies of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including phthalates (n = 6), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, n = 6), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE, n = 3), organophosphate esters flame retardants (OPE, n = 2), and pesticides (n = 1), reported positive links with maternal depression, particularly from exposures to phthalates and PBDE. Studies of the individual and mixture of metals (n = 3) have reported mixed results.

Summary

Maternal exposures to certain airborne pollutants, and chemicals from contaminated household products and food sources, are associated with maternal depression. If these findings are confirmed, reducing environmental risks may represent a promising strategy for the primary prevention of maternal depression.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-026-00529-7

Rights

© The Author(s) 2026 This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

APA Citation

Guo, P., Shi, Y., Nguyen, C., Zhuo, H., Rogne, T., & Liew, Z. (2026). Environmental Chemicals and Maternal Depression During and After Pregnancy: a Scoping Review. Current Environmental Health Reports, 13.https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-026-00529-7

Download

Share

COinS