Korean Journal of Health & Nursing (Korean J Health Nurs, KJHN)
Open Access, Peer Reviewed
pISSN 3058-4744
eISSN 3058-5643
Original Article

Mediating Role of Anxiety in the Fatigue, Antenatal Depression Relationship Among Advanced Maternal Age with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, Beakseok Culture University, Cheonan, Republic of Korea

Correspondence to Mi Hyeon Park, E-mail: chritine@bscu.ac.kr

Korean J Health Nurs 2025;2(2):63-72. https://doi.org/10.12972/kjhn.2025.2.2.1
Received on November 19, 2025, Revised on December 16, 2025, Accepted on December 22, 2025, Published onDecember 31, 2025.
© Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined the mediating effect of anxiety on the relationship between fatigue and antenatal depression in women with advanced maternal age and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods: A descriptive correlational study was conducted using secondary data from 163 primiparous women aged ≥35 years with GDM. Data collected from October 2021 to February 2022 were analyzed using SPSS 29.0 with descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlations, and PROCESS macro model 4 for mediation analysis. Results: Mean scores were 26.84±5.98 for fatigue, 49.82±5.22 for anxiety, and 9.63±5.29 for antenatal depression. Fatigue was significantly correlated with anxiety (r=.278, p<.001) and antenatal depression (r=.325, p<.001), while anxiety was correlated with antenatal depression (r=.187, p=.017). Mediation analysis revealed that while fatigue significantly affected anxiety (β=0.29, p<.001), anxiety did not significantly affect antenatal depression when fatigue was controlled for (β=0.11, p=.178). Fatigue had a significant direct effect on antenatal depression (β=0.22, p=.002), but the mediating pathway through anxiety was not supported (β=0.03). The incidence of antenatal depression differed significantly by occupation, hospitalization experience, and perceived health status. Conclusion: While anxiety did not mediate the association between fatigue and antenatal depression, the observed direct effect indicates that fatigue management should be considered when developing mental health support strategies for women of advanced maternal age with GDM, with early screening and intensive management of high-risk groups.

Keywords

Anxiety, Depression, Fatigue, Gestational Diabetes, Pregnancy