Postpartum depression: a comparison of screening and routine clinical evaluation

This study compared the efficacy of routine clinical evaluation with that of screening with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale for the detection of postpartum depression in a residency training program practice.

Three hundred ninety-one patients during a period of 1 year were assigned according to delivery date to screening for postpartum depression with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale or to a control group who had only spontaneous detection during routine clinical evaluation. The incidences of postpartum depression detection and demographic characteristics were compared between 79 patients in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale group and 96 patients in the clinical evaluation group by means of chi(2) analyses.

The incidence of postpartum depression detection with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was significantly higher than the incidence of spontaneous detection during routine clinical evaluation (35.4% and 6.3%, respectively; P =.001).

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale is an effective adjunct to clinical interview for diagnosis of postpartum depression and should be considered in residency training.