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Using the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale to screen for perinatal anxiety

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Abstract

We replicated the factor structure of the anxiety subscale of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in a large convenience sample of Western Australian women who participated in the beyondblue National Postnatal Depression Program. In addition, we determined an appropriate cut-off score for the anxiety subscale. Factor analyses conducted on the EPDS responses yielded depression and anxiety factors as identified in previous research. Two-factor solutions accounted for over 50% of the variance at two time frames: antenatally (N = 4,706) and at postnatal follow-up (N = 3,853). The anxiety and depression factors had similar factor structures antenatally and postnatally and were consistent with previous published findings. The concurrent validity of the anxiety subscale was demonstrated by its significant relationship to anxiety-related items on a psychosocial risk factors questionnaire. Anxiety dropped significantly from the antenatal to the postnatal time period. These findings confirm the anxiety subscale of the EPDS and point to its utility in screening for anxiety symptoms using a cut-off score ≥4 which captured the top quartile of the antenatal sample.

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Notes

  1. KEMH is the major public women’s hospital of the state, accepting women at all levels of obstetric risk. OPH accepts obstetric and other patients who are not deemed high risk; FBC accepts low-risk cases only. Mercy Hospital is the only private hospital participant.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the many women who participated in this research. We are grateful to beyondblue: the national depression initiative for funding the current research project and the Women and Infants Research Foundation for their continued support. We acknowledge the guidance and inspiration provided by the late Dr. Sherryl Pope who launched the beyondblue PND Program in Western Australia. We appreciate the valuable contribution of the Research Midwifes and postgraduate students who recruited participants: Colleen Ball, Jocelyn Bristol, Sandy Maclean, Monica Howard, Debbie Lien, and Flavia Bises; and James Humphries for his management of the data. Thanks also to Associate Professor Craig Speelman, Edith Cowan University, who provided helpful comments on an early draft of this paper.

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Correspondence to Delphin Swalm.

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Swalm, D., Brooks, J., Doherty, D. et al. Using the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale to screen for perinatal anxiety. Arch Womens Ment Health 13, 515–522 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-010-0170-6

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