Drawing the line in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS): a vital decision
-
Dagmar Lagerberg
,
Margaretha Magnusson
Abstract
Background: The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is widely used in early child health care. This study examined the appropriateness of the recommended EPDS cut-off score 11/12.
Methods: Two main analyses were performed: 1. Associations between EPDS scores and maternal health behaviour, stress, life events, perceived mother-child interaction quality and child behaviour. 2. Screening parameters of the EPDS, i.e., sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value. EPDS scores were available for 438 mothers and maternal questionnaires for 361 mothers.
Results: Already in the EPDS score intervals 6–8 and 9–11, there were notable adversities, according to maternal questionnaires, in stress, perceived quality of mother-child interaction, perceived child difficultness and child problem behaviours. Using maternal questionnaire reports about sadness/distress postpartum as standard, the recommended EPDS cut-off score 11/12 resulted in a very low sensitivity (24%). The cut-off score 6/7 yielded a sensitivity of 61%, a specificity of 82% and a positive predictive value of 61%.
Conclusions: In terms of both clinical relevance and screening qualities, an EPDS cut-off score lower than 11/12 seems recommendable.
©2011 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York
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Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial
- Infectious disease, child care and school
- Original Articles
- Sport participation during adolescence and suicide ideation and attempts
- Bullying in middle school: results from a 2008 survey
- Child health and maternal stress: does neighbourhood status matter?
- Drawing the line in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS): a vital decision
- Alcohol use, related problems and psychological health in college students
- Cross-cultural validity of the scale for interpersonal behavior
- Level of training of nursing staff and the autonomy given to psychiatric inpatients: a multicenter study
- Correlates of identity statuses among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong
- A pilot study: pain, fatigue and stress in maternal relatives of adolescent female psychiatric inpatients assessed for juvenile primary fibromyalgia syndrome
- Text messaging: one step forward for phone companies, one leap backward for adolescence
- Case Report/Short Communications
- Iron deficiency anemia presenting as pancytopenia in an adolescent girl
- Menstrual bleeding patterns in adolescents using etonogestrel (ENG) implant
- Trends and Milestones
- Residential care centers for persons with intellectual disability in Israel. Trends in the number of children 1999–2008
