Validation of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in Italy

Validation of the Italian version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is described. Sixty-one post-partum women (aged 22-43 years) were evaluated. Degree of accuracy of the Italian EPDS was carried out by comparing results with those obtained by means of the clinical interview Present State Examination (PSE). Nine women (15%) were suffering from clinically significant depression. The best cut-off score of the Italian EPDS was between 9 and 10; this showed the highest sensitivity (100%) with a good specificity (83%). These results are concordant with the validation of the original English scale and of other translated versions. This study confirms that the EPDS is an extremely useful screening instrument that shows consistent psychometric features when translated and used in different community contexts.