Premium
The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale: validation on a Swedish community sample
Author(s) -
Wickberg B.,
Hwang C. P.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1996.tb09845.x
Subject(s) - edinburgh postnatal depression scale , depression (economics) , rating scale , postpartum depression , psychology , psychiatry , population , scale (ratio) , montgomery–åsberg depression rating scale , clinical psychology , medicine , pregnancy , depressive symptoms , anxiety , developmental psychology , environmental health , genetics , physics , quantum mechanics , biology , economics , macroeconomics
The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was designed to be used by community health workers to screen for postnatal depression. We report data from a population‐based sample of 1655 women who completed the EPDS at 2 months and 3 months postpartum. A total of 128 women were interviewed with the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and assessed according to DSM‐III‐R criteria for major depression. A cut‐off score of 11.5 on the EPDS identified all but two women with major depression, giving it a sensitivity of 96%, a specificity of 49% and a positive predictive value of 59%. This study supports the validity of the EPDS shown in earlier studies, and indicates that the scale is a useful screening instrument for identifying postnatal depression in primary health care in Sweden.