Data set for the research article " Intestinal Microbiome and Maternal Mental Health: Preventing Parenting Stress and Enhancing Resilience in Mothers "
We conducted two studies to examine the links between intestinal microbiota, physical condition, and psychological state in nonclinical, postpartum Japanese women.
>Study 1
Study 1 is part of a Japanese research project entitled The Principle of Human Social Brain-Mind Development. For this portion of the project, we analyzed data from 339 participants (mean age, 34.66 ± 4.81 years; range, 21–47 years). No participants had any psychological or physical disorders. We collected the data between January and February 2021. For each participant, we obtained written informed consent and collected a stool sample, and then gave them four questionnaires to complete at home: PSI (parenting stress), Multidimensional Physical Scale (MDPS, physical condition), and Mykinso Pro (dietary and lifestyle habits). We also collected information on socioeconomic status.
>Study 2
Study 2 is part of the Japanese research project entitled Investigation of the Interrelationship among Mental, Physical and Intestinal Microbiota in Postpartum Mothers and Their Infants. For this study, we analyzed data from 27 first-time mothers within three to six months after childbirth (mean age = 33.63 years, SD = 4.18, range 27 to 41 years). All participants visited The Baby Laboratory at Kyoto University.
Participants visited the lab twice. At the first visit, we collected the physical data and administered the questionnaires: the Japanese version of the Resilience Scale (RS25 and J-RS, psychological resilience) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale (CESD). The physical measurements used to assess physical composition and function were as follows: (1) BMI, body fat percentage, SMI, and extracellular water/total body water ratio (ECW/TBW) (InBody 770 multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance device, InBody Japan Inc., Tokyo); (2) grip strength of the dominant hand, which is considered to reflect the muscular strength of the whole body; (3) the two-step test for risk of the locomotive syndrome; a lower score indicates weak gait function including muscle strength, balance, and flexibility of the lower limbs; (4) normal and maximum gait speed for 5 m; lower gait speed score also indicates declining motor function in the lower limbs.
At the second visit, we collected saliva samples to measure oxytocin, collected three minutes of resting ECG data to assess the autonomic nervous system (i.e., cardiac sympathetic and cardiac vagal index; based on Toichi et al., 1997), administered the PSI, and collected information on age, years of education, and breastfeeding schedule. Although we asked the participants to visit twice within the same week if they could, the mean interval between the two visits was 7.74 days (SD = 8.19 days). To evaluate the intestinal microbiota, participants collected stool samples at home within two or three days after the second visit.
