Four maternal characteristics determine the 12-month course of chronic severe postpartum depressive symptoms.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Postpartum depression is a heterogeneous disorder in phenotype and etiology. Characterizing the longitudinal course of depressive symptoms over the first year after birth and identifying variables that predict distinct symptom trajectories will expedite efficient mental health treatment planning. The purpose was to determine 12-month trajectories of postpartum depressive symptoms, identify characteristics that predict the trajectories, and provide a computational algorithm that predicts trajectory membership.

Methods

A prospective cohort of women delivering at an academic medical center (2006-2011) was recruited from an urban women's hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. Women with a postpartum depressive disorder (n = 507) participated and completed symptom severity assess

SUBMITTER: Fisher SD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6494079 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature