Abstract
To the Editor:We thank Ross for her interest in our article. Chronic depression was assigned a score of ≥13 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at the 3 follow-up visits (at 12, 24, and 48 months). At the 48-month interview, 58 (34.3%) of the 169 mothers with a positive EPDS score at the 3 visits reported that they received a medical prescription of an antidepressant drug or that they were or had been in psychotherapy for management of depression after childbirth.To assess whether maternal treatment could have introduced a conservative confounding bias to the results, we repeated the analyses after excluding mothers who reported receiving treatment for depression (antidepressant drugs or psychotherapy) after the child’s birth. The results did not change for any of the outcomes (revised Table III).Table IIIAdjusted odds ratios for anthropometric indices at 48 months of age, according to maternal depression status (EPDS ≥13), Pelotas, Brazil, 2004Anthropometric indexEPDS ≥13PNeverAt 1 or 2 follow-ups, OR (95% CI)At 3 follow-ups,OR (CI 95%)W/A <-2 z score1.01.8 (0.9-3.4)1.8 (0.6-5.9).188H/A <-2 z score1.01.1 (0.7-1.8)1.0 (0.4-2.5).837W/H <-2 z score1.01.1 (0.3-3.8)2.6 (0.5-14.3).528W/H > 2 z score1.01.0 (0.7-1.3)1.8 (1.0-3.3).131A, age; H, height; W, weight. Open table in a new tab To the Editor: We thank Ross for her interest in our article. Chronic depression was assigned a score of ≥13 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at the 3 follow-up visits (at 12, 24, and 48 months). At the 48-month interview, 58 (34.3%) of the 169 mothers with a positive EPDS score at the 3 visits reported that they received a medical prescription of an antidepressant drug or that they were or had been in psychotherapy for management of depression after childbirth. To assess whether maternal treatment could have introduced a conservative confounding bias to the results, we repeated the analyses after excluding mothers who reported receiving treatment for depression (antidepressant drugs or psychotherapy) after the child’s birth. The results did not change for any of the outcomes (revised Table III). A, age; H, height; W, weight. Are we adequately protecting vulnerable patients in longitudinal observational studies?The Journal of PediatricsVol. 158Issue 6PreviewTo the Editor: Full-Text PDF
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