Top

Published in:

01-10-2011 | Original Article

Prevalence and psychosocial correlates of perinatal depression: a cohort study from urban Pakistan

Authors: Nusrat Husain, Asia Parveen, Meher Husain, Qamar Saeed, Farhat Jafri, Raza Rahman, Barbara Tomenson, Imran B. Chaudhry

Published in: Archives of Women's Mental Health | Issue 5/2011

Abstract

Depression around childbirth is common in low income countries. The aim of this study was to examine the factors associated with persistence of depression from the antenatal to the postnatal period in urban Pakistan. A total of 1,357 pregnant women in their third trimester attending the antenatal clinic were included in the study. From these, 763 mothers who delivered at the study maternity home were reassessed after 3 months of childbirth. Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was administered to measure depression in both the antenatal and the postnatal periods. Psychological distress, disability and life events experienced by mothers were also measured by using the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20), Brief Disability Questionnaire (BDQ), and Life Events Checklist, respectively. We found 25.8% prevalence rate of antenatal depression and 38.3% persistent depression in a private clinic. Persistently depressed mothers had significantly high psychological distress, more disability, and experienced more stressful life events than the resolved group. Our findings confirm the high rates of depression during pregnancy but we found low rates of persistent depression in this urban population as compared to the previous report. There is a need for further investigation of factors associated with persistent depression in order to develop appropriate interventions.

Ali NS, Ali BS, Azam IS (2009) Post partum anxiety and depression in peri-urban communities of Karachi, Pakistan: a quasi-experimental study. BMC Publ Health 9:384CrossRef

Appleby L, Gregoire A, Platz C, Prince M, Kumar R (1994) Screening women for high risk of postnatal depression. J Psychosom Res 38:539–545PubMedCrossRef

Bennett HA, Einarson A, Taddio A, Koren G, Einarson TR (2004) Prevalence of depression during pregnancy: systematic review. Obstet Gynecol 103:698–709PubMedCrossRef

Boath EH, Pryce AJ, Cox JL (1998) Postnatal depression: the impact on the family. J Reprod Infant Psychol 16:199–213CrossRef

Bunevicius R, Kusminskas L, Bunevicius A, Nadisauskiene RJ, Jureniene K, Pop VJM (2009) Psychosocial risk factors for depression during pregnancy. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 88:599–605PubMedCrossRef

Burke L (2003) The impact of maternal depression on familial relationships. Int Rev Psychiatry 15:243–255PubMedCrossRef

Chandran M, Tharyan P, Muliyil J, Abraham S (2002) Post-partum depression in a cohort of women from a rural area of Tamil Nadu, India. Br J Psychiatry 181:499–504PubMedCrossRef

Civic D, Holt VL (2000) Maternal depressive symptoms and child behavior problems in a nationally representative normal birthweight sample. Matern Child Health J 4:215–221PubMedCrossRef

Cogill SR, Caplan HL, Alexandra H, Robson KM, Kumar R (1986) Impact of maternal postnatal depression on cognitive development of young children. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 292:1165. doi:10.1136/bmj.292.6529.1165 CrossRef

Cox J, Holden L (1994) Perinatal psychiatry: use and misuse of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Gaskell, London

Edwards B, Galletly C, Semmler-Booth T, Dekker G (2008) Does antenatal screening for psychosocial risk factors predict postnatal depression? A follow-up study of 154 women in Adelaide, South Australia. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 42:51–55PubMedCrossRef

Evans J, Heron J, Francomb H, Oke S, Golding J (2001) Cohort study of depressed mood during pregnancy and after childbirth. BMJ 323:257–260PubMedCrossRef

Faisal-Cury A, Rossi Menezes P (2007) Prevalence of anxiety and depression during pregnancy in a private setting sample. Arch Womens Ment Health 10(1):25–32PubMedCrossRef

Gotlib IH, Whiffen VE, Mount JH, Milne K, Cordy NI (1989) Prevalence rates and demographic characteristics associated with depression in pregnancy and the postpartum. J Consult Clin Psychol 57:269–274PubMedCrossRef

Husain N, Creed F, Tomenson B (2000) Depression and social stress in Pakistan. Psychol Med 30:395–402PubMedCrossRef

Husain N, Bevc I, Husain M, Chaudhry IB, Atif N, Rahman A (2006) Prevalence and social correlates of postnatal depression in a low income country. Arch Womens Ment Health 9:197–202PubMedCrossRef

Husain N, Chaudhry IB, Afridi MA, Tomenson B, Creed F (2007) Life stress and depression in a tribal area of Pakistan. Br J Psychiatry 190:36–41PubMedCrossRef

Husain N, Humail SM, Chaudhry IB, Rahman R, Tomenson B, Creed F (2010) Psychological distress among patients of an orthopaedic outpatient clinic: study from a low income country. Ann Gen Psychiatr 9:1–7CrossRef

Josefsson A, Berg G, Nordin C, Sydsjo G (2001) Prevalence of depressive symptoms in late pregnancy and postpartum. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 80:251–255PubMedCrossRef

Karmaliani R, Asad N, Bann CM et al (2009) Prevalence of anxiety, depression and associated factors among pregnant women of Hyderabad, Pakistan. Int J Soc Psychiatry 55:414–424PubMedCrossRef

Kazi A, Fatmi Z, Hatcher J, Kadir MM, Niaz U, Wasserman GA (2006) Social environment and depression among pregnant women in urban areas of Pakistan: importance of social relations. Soc Sci Med 63:1466–1476PubMedCrossRef

Leigh B, Milgrom J (2008) Risk factors for antenatal depression, postnatal depression and parenting stress. BMC Psychiatry 8:24PubMedCrossRef

Lovestone S, Kumar R (1993) Postnatal psychiatric illness: the impact on partners. Br J Psychiatry 163:210–216PubMedCrossRef

Milgrom J, Gemmill AW, Bilszta JL, Hayes B, Barnett B, Brooks J, Ericksen J, Ellwood D, Buist A (2008) Antenatal risk factors for postnatal depression: a large prospective study. J Affect Disord 108(1–2):147–157PubMedCrossRef

Mirza I, Jenkins R (2004) Risk factors, prevalence, and treatment of anxiety and depressive disorders in Pakistan: systematic review. BMJ 328:794–797PubMedCrossRef

O’Brien LM, Heycock EG, Hanna M, Jones PW, Cox L (2004) Postnatal depression and faltering growth: a community study. Pediatrics 113:1242–1247PubMedCrossRef

O’Hara MW, Swain AM (1996) Rates and risk of postpartum depression: a metaanalysis. Int Rev Psychiatry 8:37–54CrossRef

Patel V, Rodrigues M, DeSouza N (2002) Gender, poverty, and postnatal depression: a study of mothers in Goa, India. Am J Psychiatry 159:43–47PubMedCrossRef

Patel V, Rahman A, Jacob KS, Hughes M (2004) Effect of maternal mental health on infant growth in low-income countries: new evidence from South Asia. BMJ 328:820–823PubMedCrossRef

Rahman A, Creed F (2007) Outcome of prenatal depression and risk factors associated with persistence in the first postnatal year: prospective study from Rawalpindi, Pakistan. J Affect Disord 100:115–121PubMedCrossRef

Rahman A, Iqbal Z, Harrington R (2003) Life events, social support and depression in childbirth: perspectives from a rural community in the developing world. Psychol Med 33:1161–1167PubMedCrossRef

Rahman A, Iqbal Z, Bunn J, Lovel H, Harrington R (2004) Impact of maternal depression on infant nutritional status and illness. Arch Gen Psychiatry 61:946–952PubMedCrossRef

Rahman A, Iqbal Z, Lovel H, Shah MA (2005) Screening for postnatal depression in the developing world: a comparison of the WHO Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Screen (EPDS). J Pak Psych Soc 2:69–72

Rahman A, Bunn J, Lovel H et al (2007) Maternal depression increases infant risk of diarrhoeal illness—a cohort study. Arch Dis Child 92:24–28PubMedCrossRef

Rubertsson C, Wickberg B, Gustavsson P et al (2005) Depressive symptoms in early pregnancy, two months and one year postpartum-prevalence and psychosocial risk factors in a national Swedish sample. Arch Wom Ment Health 8:97–104CrossRef

Shah SM, Bowen A, Afridi I, Nowshad G, Muhajarine N (2011) Prevalence of antenatal depression: comparison between Pakistani and Canadian women. J Pak Med Assoc 61(3):242–246PubMed

Stein A, Gath DH, Bucher J, Bond A, Day A, Cooper PJ (1991) The relationship between post-natal depression and mother–child interaction. Br J Psychiatry 158:46–52PubMedCrossRef

VonKorff M, Ustun TB, Ormel J et al (1996) Self-report disability in an international primary care study of psychological illness. J Clin Epidemiol 49:297–303CrossRef

World Health Organization (1994) A user’s guide to the Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ). WHO/MNH/PSF/94.8. Geneva: World Health Organization

Yoshida K, Yamashita H, Ueda M et al (2001) Postnatal depression in Japanese mothers and the reconsideration of ‘Satogaeri bunben’. Pediatr Int 43:189–193PubMedCrossRef

Title: Prevalence and psychosocial correlates of perinatal depression: a cohort study from urban Pakistan
Authors: Nusrat Husain
Asia Parveen
Meher Husain
Qamar Saeed
Farhat Jafri
Raza Rahman
Barbara Tomenson
Imran B. Chaudhry
Publication date: 01-10-2011
Publisher: Springer Vienna
Published in: Archives of Women's Mental Health / Issue 5/2011
Print ISSN: 1434-1816
Electronic ISSN: 1435-1102
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-011-0233-3

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Springer Medicine

Prevalence and psychosocial correlates of perinatal depression: a cohort study from urban Pakistan

Abstract

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 5/2011

Bio-socio-demographic factors associated with post-traumatic stress disorder in a sample of postpartum Brazilian women

Assessing the measurement invariance of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale across immigrant and non-immigrant women in the postpartum period

Salivary cortisol in pregnant women suffering from blood and injection phobia

Estrogen replacement therapy and cognitive functions in healthy postmenopausal women: a randomized trial

Amy Wenzel: Anxiety in Childbearing Women—Diagnosis and treatment

Posttraumatic stress disorder and trauma characteristics are correlates of premenstrual dysphoric disorder