Comparison of the Use of the EPDS-3 vs. EPDS-10 to Identify Women at Risk for Peripartum Depression [3K

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INTRODUCTION: Antepartum anxiety, affecting up to 45% of women, is a risk factor for postpartum depression, and antepartum depression has a strong anxiety component. The Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS-10) is a well-validated tool for identifying women who are at risk for peripartum depression. The EPDS-3, a shorter anxiety-focused subscale of the EPDS-10, has recently been examined. Our study evaluated if the EPDS-3 identifies a similar subset of women at risk for peripartum depression as the EPDS-10. METHODS: Study subjects (n=914) were evaluated with the EPDS-10 as part of the screening process for peripartum depression studies conducted at our academic medical center. The EPDS-3 for each subject was calculated and adjusted in order to use the same numerical cut-off for at-risk as is used for the EPDS-10. Each adjusted EPDS-3 score was compared to its EPDS-10. RESULTS: When using the adjusted EPDS-3 versus EPDS-10 score, the number of at-risk subjects increased by 40.1%. Of the subjects who were identified as at-risk using the EPDS-10, 100% maintained an at-risk adjusted EPDS-3 score (n=111). The remainder of at-risk subjects found using the adjusted EPDS-3 score (n=367) were newly identified. CONCLUSION: The use of the adjusted EPDS-3 anxiety subscale maintains all subjects' existing at-risk status in addition to identifying additional at-risk subjects. These findings confirm that women at risk for peripartum depression have significant comorbid anxiety symptoms. Future research should examine the accuracy of the anxiety-focused subscale in identifying depressive and anxiety disorders across the peripartum period.