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Efficiency of a two-item pre-screen to reduce the burden of depression screening in pregnancy and postpartum: an
Ian M Bennett1, Andrew Coco, James C Coyne
1Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. ian.bennett@uphs.upenn.edu
Objective:
Systems for efficient case finding of women with major depression during pregnancy and postpartum are needed. Here we assess the diagnostic accuracy of a modified 2-item patient health questionnaire (PHQ-2) as a pre-screen in assessing depression.
Methods:
Cross-sectional assessments at 15 weeks' gestation (n = 414), 30 weeks' gestation (n = 334), and 6 to 16 weeks postpartum (n = 193) among women from a diverse set of races/ethnicities, participating in the IMPLICIT maternal care quality improvement network. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale score (>or=13) was used as the criterion measure for the PHQ-2.
Results:
A positive 2-item screen had sensitivity of 93%, 82%, and 80% and specificity of 75%, 80%, and 86% for Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale score of >or=13 for assessment at 15 and 30 weeks gestational age and postpartum, respectively. The positive/negative predictive values for the PHQ-2 were 44/98, 24/91, and 30/98 for each time point, respectively. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis suggested that 2-item assessments at each time point had approximately equal diagnostic validity.
Conclusions:
Two questions were efficient to rule out depression and reduced the need for further screening of approximately 60% to 80% of women, depending on the point in pregnancy or postpartum. A diagnostic interview follow-up of women screening positive is still required.
