Postpartum Depression Often Comorbid With Other Disorders

Fourteen percent of women screen positive for postpartum depression, and the majority of women with postpartum depression have a comorbid anxiety disorder or major depressive disorder, researchers reported in the online March 13 JAMA Psychiatry. 

Katherine L. Wisner, MD, MS, of Northwestern University in Chicago, and her colleagues examined when episodes of postpartum depression began, how much self-harm ideation was involved, and which primary and secondary DSM-IV disorders were comorbid. The investigators hope that such information will help to guide treatment and policy decisions.

Study participants included ten thousand women who underwent telephone screening four to six weeks after giving birth. Of the participants, 1,396 screened positive for postpartum depression. Positive screen findings were characterized as a score of 10 or higher on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS).

Researchers found that approximately 40% of postpartum depression episodes began post partum, while 33.4% occurred during pregnancy and just over a quarter started prior to pregnancy. Approximately 19% of mothers who screened positive for postpartum depression also showed signs of self-harm ideation.

Women with postpartum depression were frequently diagnosed with comorbid disorders, noted the study authors. Almost two-thirds of women had comorbid anxiety disorders, 68.5% had comorbid unipolar depressive disorders, and 22.6% had bipolar disorders.

In their conclusion, the study authors emphasize the need to develop more strategies to distinguish women with bipolar disorders from those with unipolar disorders.

—Lauren LeBano 

Reference 

1. Wisner KL, Sit DK, McShea MC, et al. Onset timing, thoughts of self-harm, and diagnoses in postpartum women with screen-positive depression findings. JAMA Psychiatry. 13 March 2013;[Epub ahead of print].