What is the Best Screening Tool for Depression During Pregnancy?

About 10% to 15% of women of all ages knowledge clinically considerable depressive signs and symptoms through being pregnant. In addition, women of all ages with a heritage of significant melancholy show up to be at higher hazard for recurrent health issues for the duration of pregnancy notably in the placing of antidepressant discontinuation.  We have extended argued that it is essential to identify and to present treatment method to females who put up with from depression all through pregnancy, but we have but to concur on what is the ideal instrument for this objective.

Working with the EPDS to Establish Depression All through Pregnancy?

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), though in the beginning engineered to detect postpartum melancholy, has been used in pregnant populations however, there has been considerable variability in the estimates of the sensitivity and specificity of the EPDS in this location.

Can Traditional Screening Tools Be Applied in Pregnant Girls?

Scientists have extended been worried that the instruments typically utilised to establish and evaluate depressive indicators in the general population, this sort of as the Hamilton Rating Scale for Melancholy (HAM-D) and the Beck Melancholy Inventory (BDI), incorporate a number of queries about  physical indications, these as alterations in urge for food and rest disturbance.  While these indications are standard depressive signs or symptoms, they are also signs or symptoms of a regular pregnancy.

A analyze carried out in Brazil women of all ages implies that these screening resources get the job done just as effectively as the additional typically made use of Edinburgh Postnatal Despair Scale (EPDS).  The researchers concluded that the scales examined can be regarded as as valid screening tools for antenatal melancholy. All three screening applications had narrow assurance intervals and yielded good predictive values better than .75. Moreover, all scales had excellent inside consistency. In truth, the BDI has far better psychometric qualities (with the greatest AUC value of .90) than the much more commonly employed EPDS.

Ruta Nonacs, MD PhD