An Epidemiological Study of Risk Factors for Postnatal Depression

2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 16500467
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Applied health science
• Research Institution: Osaka City University
• Principal Investigator: SHIRAHATA Kumiko Osaka City University, Medical School, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (90310739)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): YOSHIYAMA Yasuko Osaka City University, Medical School, Lecturer, 医学部, 講師 (10321134) ; MAEDA Yuko Osaka City University, Medical School, Assistant, 医学部, 助手 (20321135) ; HIROTA Yoshio Osaka City University, Medical School, Professor, 大学院医学研究科, 教授 (20080624)
• Project Period (FY): 2004 – 2005
• Keywords: Postnatal Depression / Beck Depression Inventory / Epidemiological Study / Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale / stressful event / daily habits

Research Abstract

The present study was undertaken to investigate postnatal depression and to explore risk factors for the onset of postnatal depression through analysis of the effects of various parameters, including recent social stressors, daily habits, and others. The study involved women who had been definitively diagnosed as pregnant at the outpatient gynecologic and obstetric department of a university hospital in Osaka and who desired childbirth. The study lasted from June 2003 to July 2005. The first investigation was performed upon definitive diagnosis of pregnancy, the second immediately before delivery, and the third within one month after delivery. The first investigation, composed of a self-entry questionnaire survey of habits in 337 women and a survey with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) postnatal depression questionnaires, was carried out in 334 women. The second investigation was composed of a survey of stress in 151 women and a postnatal depression questionnaire survey in 150 women. The third investigation was a postnasal depression questionnaire survey of 127 women. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were determined using a logistic model based on the data obtained. Data were analyzed using SPSS Version 14. In the survey of the onset of postnatal depression using the BDI, 9.4% of the women were rated as having symptoms of postnatal depression, while 8.2% of the women had such symptoms in the survey using the EPDS. When factors affecting the onset of postnatal depression were explored, living with smokers and experiencing 3 or more stressful events were found to significantly affect the presence of depression symptoms (OR = 5.42, 95%CI = 1.09-27.1, p = 0.04; OR = 8.61, 95%CI = 1.41-52.6, p = 0.02, respectively).