Prediction
of postnatal depression by EPDS (Edinburgh
Postnatal Depression Scale)
There
is a high incidence of postpartum blues among
women who later suffer from postnatal
depression. Many studies have suggested that
postpartum used of the Edinburgh
Postnatal Depression
Scale
(EPDS) has strong validity and reliability for
screening women at risk of developing postnatal
depression. Since mothers generally stay no more
than 3 days at the obstretics clinic a study
evaluated the capacity of the EPDS use at 2 or 3
days postpartum to predict the later development
of postnatal depression. Women could thus be
screened for potential postnatal depression
before leaving hospital.
The EPDS, which is a 10-item self-report
questionnaire with scores response of 0, 1, 2,
and 3, increasing with the severity of the
symptom, was completed by 1,154 women on the
second or third day postpartum while still at
the obstretics clinics. A second EPDS was
completed between 4 to 6 weeks after giving
birth. Scores were classified into 4 categories
(0; 1 to 9; 10 to 12; ³13).
The score of the first EPDS was higher than the
score of the second EPDS. EPDS scores at 2 to 3
days postpartum, however, were highly correlated
with those at 4 to 6 weeks postpartum. Cut-off
scores of 10 or 11 for the EPDS at 2 to 3 days
postpartum gave good specificity, sensitivity,
and positive predictive values for the EPDS
cut-off scores at 4 to 6 weeks postpartum which
indicate a diagnosis of postnatal
depression.
These results suggest that 2- to 3-day EPDS
scores are predictive of subsequent depressive
symptomatology and implementing the EPDS early
after delivery is effective in detecting women
vulnerable to postnatal depression. The
EPDS, routinely used for identification of
women at risk for developing postnatal
depression while still in the maternity ward,
represents a quick and cheap instrument. Teissedre
F, Chabrol H. Detecting women at risk for
postnatal depression using the Edinburgh
Postnatal Depression Scale at 2 to 3 days
postpartum.Can
J Psychiatry 49: 51-54, 2004
full
text freely available