BACKGROUND: Although maternal perinatal mental illnesses commonly present to and are primarily treated in general practice, few population-based estimates of this burden exist, and the most affected socioeconomic groups of pregnant women remain unclear. AIM: To provide estimates of maternal depression, anxiety and serious mental illness (SMI) in UK general practice and quantify impacts of socioeconomic deprivation. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional analysis of prospectively recorded general practice records from a UK-wide database. METHOD: A pregnancy ending in live birth was randomly selected for every woman of childbearing age, 1994-2009. Prevalence and diagnostic overlap of mental illnesses were calculated using a combination of medical diagnoses and psychotropic drug prescriptions. Socioeconomic deprivation was assessed using multivariate logistic regression, adjusting for calendar period and pregnancy history. RESULTS: Among 116 457 women, 5.1% presented with antenatal depression and 13.3% with postnatal depression. Equivalent figures for anxiety were 2.6% and 3.7% and for SMI 1/1000 and 2/1000 women. Socioeconomic deprivation increased the risk of all mental illnesses, although this was more marked in older women. Those age 35-45 years in the most deprived group had 2.63 times the odds of antenatal depression (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.22 to 3.13) compared with the least deprived; in women aged 15-25 years the increased odds associated with deprivation was more modest (odds ratio = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.07 to 1.70). Similar patterns were found for anxiety and SMI. CONCLUSION: Strong socioeconomic inequalities in perinatal mental illness persist with increasing maternal age. Targeting detection and effective interventions to high-risk women may reduce inequity and avoid substantial psychiatric morbidity.
BACKGROUND: Although maternal perinatal mental illnesses commonly present to and are primarily treated in general practice, few population-based estimates of this burden exist, and the most affected socioeconomic groups of pregnant women remain unclear. AIM: To provide estimates of maternal depression, anxiety and serious mental illness (SMI) in UK general practice and quantify impacts of socioeconomic deprivation. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional analysis of prospectively recorded general practice records from a UK-wide database. METHOD: A pregnancy ending in live birth was randomly selected for every woman of childbearing age, 1994-2009. Prevalence and diagnostic overlap of mental illnesses were calculated using a combination of medical diagnoses and psychotropic drug prescriptions. Socioeconomic deprivation was assessed using multivariate logistic regression, adjusting for calendar period and pregnancy history. RESULTS: Among 116 457 women, 5.1% presented with antenatal depression and 13.3% with postnatal depression. Equivalent figures for anxiety were 2.6% and 3.7% and for SMI 1/1000 and 2/1000 women. Socioeconomic deprivation increased the risk of all mental illnesses, although this was more marked in older women. Those age 35-45 years in the most deprived group had 2.63 times the odds of antenatal depression (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.22 to 3.13) compared with the least deprived; in women aged 15-25 years the increased odds associated with deprivation was more modest (odds ratio = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.07 to 1.70). Similar patterns were found for anxiety and SMI. CONCLUSION: Strong socioeconomic inequalities in perinatal mental illness persist with increasing maternal age. Targeting detection and effective interventions to high-risk women may reduce inequity and avoid substantial psychiatric morbidity.
Authors: Chiara Servili; Girmay Medhin; Charlotte Hanlon; Mark Tomlinson; Bogale Worku; Yonas Baheretibeb; Michael Dewey; Atalay Alem; Martin Prince Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2010-11-12 Impact factor: 3.295
Authors: Trine Munk-Olsen; Henrik Søndergaard Pedersen; Thomas Munk Laursen; Morten Fenger-Grøn; Peter Vedsted; Mogens Vestergaard Journal: Scand J Prim Health Care Date: 2015-07-15 Impact factor: 2.581
Authors: Lu Ban; Joe West; Jack E Gibson; Linda Fiaschi; Rachel Sokal; Pat Doyle; Richard Hubbard; Liam Smeeth; Laila J Tata Journal: PLoS One Date: 2014-06-25 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Giridhara R Babu; G V S Murthy; Neeru Singh; Anita Nath; Mohanbabu Rathnaiah; Nolita Saldanha; R Deepa; Sanjay Kinra Journal: Front Public Health Date: 2018-05-02