Authors: Carlos Zubaran Katia Foresti Marina Verdi Schumacher Aline Luz Amoretti Mariana Rossi Thorell Lúcia Cristina Müller
Publish Date: 2009/08/20
Volume: 14, Issue: 5, Pages: 751-757
Abstract
To investigate a purported correlation between postpartum depression and selfrated maternal general health status in a sample of mothers in Southern Brazil As part of this process the Personal Health Scale PHS a selfrated health status measure was tested for the first time among postpartum women Research volunteers completed the Structured Clinical Interview for DSMIV Disorders SCID the 12item General Health Questionnaire GHQ the PHS the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale PDSS and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale EPDS Correlation coefficients were computed among the scores of the health status questionnaires and the postnatal depression scales Bivariate linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the prediction of scores of postnatal depression scales having the scores of health status questionnaires as predictors Significant correlations among both health status questionnaires and both postnatal screening tools attest to a significant interconnection between the expression of depressive symptoms and maternal health status in the postpartum period The health status measures predicted the scores of postpartum depression scales This study demonstrates that both general health questionnaires and postpartum depressive rating scales are useful tools for detecting depressive phenomena in postpartum women The association between selfrated health measures and postpartum depression may be even more significant in the context of socioeconomic deprivationWe kindly acknowledge the contribution of several students in our research group during initial phases of this investigation In particular we thank Dr Gill White Dr Mauro Madi and Dr Pedro Dantas for their assistance during different phases of this research This study was partially supported by grants from the University of Caxias do Sul and FAPERGS Research Funding Agency Rio Grande do Sul Brazil
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