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Characteristics of Hispanic Women Screened for Postpartum Depression

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Perinatal Depression among Spanish-Speaking and Latin American Women

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Abstract

Objective: In the United States, the period prevalence of depression is 21.9 % the year following birth; however, few reports about screening Hispanic women are available.

Methods: To improve case identification, our team conducted a large-scale postpartum depression screening study in Pittsburgh, PA, in an urban academic women’s hospital. During the maternity hospitalization, women were offered screening at 4–6 weeks post-birth by telephone. Screen-positive women were invited to undergo psychiatric evaluations in their homes. As part of the in-home visit, women were evaluated for timing of episode onset, rate and intensity of self-harm ideation, and primary and secondary DSM-4 disorders.

Results: Of over 13,000 women screened, 317 (2.3 %) identified themselves as Hispanic and met criteria for inclusion; 263 (83 %) were negative (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) ≤ 9) and 54 (17 %) were positive (EPDS ≥ 10). Hispanic women with positive screens were significantly younger, less highly educated, and more likely to be single than their counterparts with negative screens. The episode onset was equally distributed between postpartum (38 %) and during pregnancy (38 %), with fewer episodes beginning before pregnancy (24 %). Fifteen (4.7 %) of screened Hispanic women had thoughts of self-harm. Of the 54 women who had EPDS ≥ 10, 14 women endorsed self-harm. The most common primary diagnoses in the 29 women with positive EPDS scores who accepted home visit assessments were Unipolar Depressive and Bipolar Disorders. Although Anxiety Disorders were uncommon as primary diagnoses, nearly half the women with Unipolar and the majority of women with Bipolar Disorders had comorbid Anxiety Disorders.

Conclusions: The results obtained from the subsample of Hispanic women were similar to that of the general population from which it was derived. A major need for research is to improve the identification and treatment for perinatal Bipolar Disorder, which is common in women of all races and ethnicities.

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Funding Support

This work was supported by R01 MH 071825, Identification and Therapy of Postpartum Depression, Katherine Leah Wisner, P.I.

Trial Registration: Identification and Therapy of Postpartum Depression, NCT00282776, http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/home.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Asher Center for the Study and Treatment of Depressive Disorders, Chicago, IL, USA

    Katherine Leah Wisner M.D., M.S.

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N. St. Clair Street, Suite 1000, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Katherine Leah Wisner M.D., M.S. & Emily A. Pinheiro B.A.

  3. Department of Psychiatry, UNC School of Medicine, 101 Manning Drive, CB #7160 10514, Neurosciences Hospital, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7160, USA

    Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo Ph.D.

  4. University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    James F. Luther M.A.

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  1. Katherine Leah Wisner M.D., M.S.
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  2. Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo Ph.D.
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  3. Emily A. Pinheiro B.A.
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Correspondence to Katherine Leah Wisner M.D., M.S. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Katherine Leah Wisner

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Wisner, K.L., Lara-Cinisomo, S., Pinheiro, E.A., Luther, J.F. (2014). Characteristics of Hispanic Women Screened for Postpartum Depression. In: Lara-Cinisomo, S., Wisner, K. (eds) Perinatal Depression among Spanish-Speaking and Latin American Women. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8045-7_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8045-7_1

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