Abstract 11199: Disparities in Screening for Postpartum Depression - Insights From American Heart Association Research Goes Red Registry

Abstract

Introduction: Postpartum depression (PPD) affects 1 in 5 women in the United States and is associated with cardiovascular disease. Disparities in PPD screening have not been well studied. We investigated the level of self-reported screening, diagnosis of PPD, and disparities in screening. Methods: We utilized data from participants enrolled in the AHA Research Goes Red Registry, an online research platform powered by Verily, who responded to the Fertility and Pregnancy survey. Of the 3128 women who had responded as of May 2022, 311 participants were self-identified as postpartum women and were included in this analysis. The definition of postpartum in the survey was “I have been pregnant within the last 12 months ”. The survey included questions on PPD screening and diagnosis. We used chi-squared testing to examine differences by race-ethnicity, education, income, and proximity to healthcare in PPD screening. Results: Among the 311 postpartum women (mean age: 33.3 ± 4.8 years), 83% recalled being screened for PPD. Of the 311 women, 15% reported a diagnosis of PPD, of which 92% received treatment. There were no significant differences in PPD screening by race-ethnicity: non-Hispanic White (82%), non-Hispanic Black (83%), Asian (88%), Hispanic (80%) (p=0.91), possibly limited by sample size (Fig 1a). Similarly, there were no significant differences by educational status (p=0.22) (Fig 1b) or income (p=0.53) (Fig 1c). Women who lived in a big city with access to many hospitals had higher proportion of screening (88%), while rural area dwellers had the least (74%, p=0.54) (Fig 1d). Conclusion: Among this multiracial cohort of postpartum women, the prevalence of self-reported screening and diagnosis of PPD was 83% and 15%, respectively. The prevalence of screening did not significantly differ by race-ethnicity, education, income, and proximity to healthcare. Future larger studies were suggested to explore screening of PPD by race and other social determinants of health.