Validation of the Turkish version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale among women within their first postpartum year.
BACKGROUND
The aim of the study was to find out the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and to determine the optimum cut-off value for postnatal depression.


METHODS
Validation of the Turkish version of the EPDS was conducted on a sample of 341 women who were within their first postpartum year. Structured Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders was used as the gold standard test, and receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to evaluate test performance of the EPDS.


RESULTS
The study of sensitivity, specificity and predictive values versus SCID-I indicated a cut-off score of 12.5 as the best (sensitivity: 75.5, specificity: 71.5). Positive predictive value was 30.3% and negative predictive value was 94.5%. Cronbach's alpha value was calculated as 0.72.


CONCLUSIONS
It was concluded that: (1) values for the validity were respectable, but not excellent; (2) the scale needs to be improved for use in the Turkish population; and (3) the high prevalence of postnatal depression found in this study may be a function of the low validity of the test.
Aydin
Nazan
N
Dept. of Psychiatry, Atatürk University, Medical Faculty, Erzurum, Turkey. nmda21@hotmail.com
Inandi
Tacettin
T
Yigit
Arzu
A
Hodoglugil
Nuriye Nalan Sahin
NN
D000328:Adult; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey