2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

A study of paternal depression in postpartum period using saliva samples and its impact on work and quality of life

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	17K12338
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Research Field	Lifelong developmental nursing
Research Institution	National Center for Child Health and Development
Principal Investigator	TAKEHARA KENJI 国立研究開発法人国立成育医療研究センター, 政策科学研究部, 室長 (50531571)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	永田知映国立研究開発法人国立成育医療研究センター, 臨床研究教育部, 室長 (70385342)
Project Period (FY)	2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
Keywords	テストステロン / コルチゾール / メンタルヘルス / 父親 / 労働
Outline of Final Research Achievements	The purpose of this study was to investigate the mental health problems among fathers in the postpartum period from a physiological point of view. The participants in this study were a pair of fathers who had their first child and men with a similar social background who had no child. The data were collected via a self-administered questionnaire to evaluate the risk for depression and work conditions, and saliva samples to measure their testosterone and cortisol levels. In total, three pairs of six participants were recruited and provided the completed questionnaire and saliva sample. The medians of salivary testosterone and cortisol levels were 50.9 pg/mL and 1.17 ng/mL for the case group (fathers) and 113.1 pg/mL and 1.17 ng/mL for the control group (non-fathers). This study showed that it is quite difficult to outreach to fathers and conduct epidemiological studies.
Free Research Field	疫学・公衆衛生
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	本研究の実施により、父親を対象にした調査を実施する際の課題やポイントなど、方法論に関する知見の蓄積にはつながったが、得られた解析結果自体からは学術的・社会的な意義は得ることができなかった。一方で、本研究への協力依頼をおこなったり、関係者との打ち合わせ・相談などを通じて、産前・産後の父親も健康に対するリスクが大きい時期であり、支援の対象とすべきであることを伝える機会は少なくなく、情報発信をすることができた。社会的に父親の健康や支援の必要性が認められるようになってきたことに対して、本研究は多少の社会的貢献ができたものと考えられる。