A Longitudinal Study of Women's Depression Symptom Profiles During and After the Postpartum Phase

Publication Date

4-6-2018

Document Type

Article

Organizational Units

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychology

Keywords

Classification, Diagnosis, Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, Postpartum depression, Prospective studies, Psychiatric diagnosis, Statistical factor analysis, Symptom cluster, Women's health

Abstract

Background

An issue of critical importance for psychiatry and women's health is whether postpartum depression (PPD) represents a unique condition. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders asserts that major depressive disorder (MDD) may present with peripartum onset, without suggesting any other differences between MDD and PPD. The absence of any distinct features calls into question the nosologic validity of PPD as a diagnostic category. The present study investigates whether symptom profiles differ between PPD and depression occurring outside the postpartum phase.

Methods

In a prospective, longitudinal study of parturient women (N = 239), we examine the manifestation of depression symptoms. We assess factor structure of symptom profiles, and whether factors are differentially pronounced during and after the postpartum period.

Results

Factors were revealed representing: Worry, Emotional/Circadian/Energetic Dysregulation, Somatic/Cognitive, Appetite, Distress Display, and Anger symptoms. The factor structure was validated at postpartum and after‐postpartum timepoints. Interestingly, the Worry factor, comprising anxiety and guilt, was significantly more pronounced during the postpartum timepoint, and the Emotional/Circadian/Energetic Dysregulation factor, which contained sadness and anhedonia, was significantly less pronounced during the postpartum period.

Conclusions

These results suggest that PPD may be a unique syndrome, necessitating research, diagnosis, and treatment strategies distinct from those for MDD. Results indicate the possibility that Worry is an enhanced feature of PPD compared to depression outside the postpartum period, and the crucial role of sadness/anhedonia in MDD diagnosis may be less applicable to PPD diagnosis.

Copyright Date

4-6-2018

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. User is responsible for all copyright compliance. This article was originally published as:

Fox, M., Sandman, C. A., Davis, E. P., & Glynn, L. M. (2018). A longitudinal study of women's depression symptom profiles during and after the postpartum phase. Depression and Anxiety, 35(4), 292-304. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22719

Rights Holder

Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Provenance

Received from CHORUS

Language

English (eng)

Publication Title

Depression and Anxiety

Volume

35

Issue

4

First Page

292

Last Page

304

ISSN

1520-6394

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