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The EPDS-Lifetime: assessment of lifetime prevalence and risk factors for perinatal depression in a large cohort of depressed women

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Abstract

Perinatal depression (PND) is a common complication of pregnancy and postpartum associated with significant morbidity. We had three goals: (1) to explore the performance of a new lifetime version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS-Lifetime) to assess lifetime prevalence of PND; (2) to assess prevalence of lifetime PND in women with prior histories of major depressive episode (MDE); and (3) to evaluate risk factors for PND. Subjects were from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA). The EPDS was modified by adding lifetime PND screening questions, assessing worst episode, and symptom timing of onset. Of 682 women with lifetime MDD and a live birth, 276 (40.4 %) had a positive EPDS score of ≥12 consistent with PND. Women with PND more often sought professional help (p < 0.001) and received treatment (p = 0.001). Independent risk indicators for PND included younger age, higher education, high neuroticism, childhood trauma, and sexual abuse. We found that two in five parous women with a history of MDD had lifetime PND and that the PND episodes were more severe than MDD occurring outside of the perinatal period. The EPDS-Lifetime shows promise as a tool for assessing lifetime histories of PND in clinical and research settings.

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Acknowledgments

The infrastructure of the NESDA study fully supported this project and provided the critical assistance to interview the subjects who generously gave their time to participate in this study. We thank Dr. John Cox, the creator of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, for his thoughtful review of the manuscript and willingness to allow us to modify the original version of the EPDS to assess lifetime episodes of perinatal depression.

The infrastructure for the NESDA study (www.nesda.nl) is funded through the Geestkracht program of the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (Zon-MW, grant number 10-000-1002) and is supported by participating universities and mental health care organizations (VU University Medical Center, GGZinGeest, Arkin, Leiden University Medical Center, GGZ Rivierduinen, University Medical Center Groningen, Lentis, GGZ Friesland, GGZ Drenthe, IQ Healthcare, Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL), and Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction (Trimbos)). Dr. Meltzer-Brody is funded by the National Institutes of Health grant # K23MH85165.

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, CB# 7160, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7160, USA

    Samantha Meltzer-Brody & Patrick F. Sullivan

  2. University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Lynn Boschloo

  3. Department of Psychiatry and EMGO Institute, VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Brenda W. Penninx

  4. Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    Ian Jones

  5. Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Patrick F. Sullivan

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  1. Samantha Meltzer-Brody
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  2. Lynn Boschloo
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  4. Patrick F. Sullivan
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  5. Brenda W. Penninx
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Correspondence to Samantha Meltzer-Brody.

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Meltzer-Brody, S., Boschloo, L., Jones, I. et al. The EPDS-Lifetime: assessment of lifetime prevalence and risk factors for perinatal depression in a large cohort of depressed women. Arch Womens Ment Health 16, 465–473 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-013-0372-9

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