Risk factors for depression in pregnant women reviewed

January 11, 2010 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: News, Pregnancy

The risk factors for depression in pregnant women have been thoroughly reviewed to help clinicians identify and treat women early.

Researchers out of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor have reviewed over 1,300 peer-reviewed articles about depression in pregnancy with hopes of clearly identifying risk factors for antepartum depression. The researchers expect the identification of risk factors to aid obstetricians in their routine care of women.

“If providers know the clinical significance of risk factors for depression in pregnancy, they may be able to more easily identify women with the highest chance for developing this condition,” the study authors said.

Depression is experienced by up to 12.7 percent of prenatal women, but if caught during routine screenings, it can be treated effectively.

The team, led by Dr. Christie A. Lancaster, reviewed research material from between 1980 and 2008, searching specifically for studies that looked for correlations between antepartum depressive symptoms and at least one risk factor. The team narrowed their review down to 57 studies. After careful analysis, the team categorized risk factors from high to low correlation.

They found that maternal anxiety had “one of the strongest associations with antepartum depressive symptoms.” Other risk factors that were strongly associated with antepartum depression include lifetime depression history and being on Medicaid.

Risk factors that had a medium association with antepartum depression include life stresses (like a death in the family or divorce), a lack of social support and having an unintended pregnancy. Those women who were subjected to domestic violence had a small-to-medium association with depression.

On the lower end of the scale of association, income and education status were not strictly tied to antepartum depression. The team found that factors like smoking, drug use, age and ethnicity either had no significant association with depression or that findings were inconsistent regarding those factors.

“Our results are important for practicing clinicians because they identify risk factors that can be assessed during routine obstetric care,” stated the study authors.

“For current practice, providers should especially consider the likelihood of depressive symptoms in women with these risk factors, such as report of domestic violence or a lack of social support during pregnancy.”
A mandatory screening of pregnant patients at the University of Michigan Health System helps identify women who are dealing with depression, though it’s to be noted that those who receive a positive screening result don’t necessarily go on to develop clinical depression.

“We are hoping that providers can use the presence or absence of risk factors such as those identified in our study to enhance their assessments for depression in addition to the information that they obtain from the screening test,” said Lancaster.