Temporal Association Between Maternal Depression and Paternal Postpartum Depression

Area of Science:

• Perinatal mental health
• Psychiatry
• Public health

Background:

• Paternal postpartum depression affects up to 28% of fathers.
• The temporal link between maternal and paternal postpartum depression is not well understood.
• Maternal depression history is a key factor in paternal postpartum depression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the temporal association between maternal and paternal postpartum depression.
• To investigate the influence of maternal depression history on paternal postpartum depression.
• To identify clinical factors associated with paternal postpartum depression.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study using Kaiser Permanente Colorado health records (2008-2019).
• Included father-mother dyads with live-birth pregnancies.
• Complementary log-log models with inverse probability of treatment weighting estimated relative risk, stratified by maternal depression history.

Main Results:

• 15,257 dyads (19,352 pregnancies) were analyzed.
• Paternal postpartum depression occurred in 1.7% and maternal in 8.9% of pregnancies without parental depression history.
• Maternal postpartum depression increased paternal postpartum depression by 81% (RR=1.81) if the mother had no prior depression history; no association was found if she did.

Conclusions:

• Maternal postpartum depression is linked to increased paternal postpartum depression risk, but only when the mother has no prior depression history.
• Findings underscore the necessity of developing depression screening tools for fathers that account for both parents' risk factors.
• Early identification and intervention for paternal postpartum depression are crucial.