The self-rated Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology for screening prenatal depression

To examine whether the self-reported version of the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS-SR), which is used for major depression, is a reliable tool for screening and assessment of prenatal depression.

Between June 2006 and July 2008, pregnant women attending a teaching hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, completed the Portuguese version of the IDS-SR. Trained psychologists diagnosed depression via the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders questionnaire, which is based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV.

Of 543 participants, 60 (11%) were diagnosed with depression. The Cronbach α of the IDS-SR was 0.89, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.8. The IDS-SR cutoff score at 30 gave a sensitivity and specificity of 78% and 76%, respectively, for diagnosis of prenatal depression. Exploratory and confirmatory analyses revealed a 2-factor structure for the IDS-SR, characterized by symptoms of "mood/cognition" and "irritability/anxiety/pain".

The IDS-SR gave satisfactory internal consistency and accuracy for diagnosing prenatal depression, showing that it can improve early diagnosis and treatment of this condition, thereby minimizing the burden. In addition, a 2-factor model was found to account for depressive symptomatology during pregnancy, which will be useful for developing further depression subscales specific to prenatal depression.