title: Anxiety symptoms and disorders at eight weeks postpartum.
abstract: Although the prevalence, risk factors for, and consequences of postpartum depression have been studied extensively, little work has examined the nature of postpartum anxiety disorders in community samples. In the present study, 147 community women completed a diagnostic interview and a battery of self-report inventories approximately eight weeks after childbirth. The rate of generalized anxiety disorder was elevated as compared to the rate in women representative of the general population. Depending on the particular domain of anxiety being considered, 10-50% of women reporting anxiety symptoms endorsed comorbid depressive symptoms. In hierarchical multiple regression analyses, different combinations of demographic and vulnerability variables predicted symptoms of somatic anxiety, social anxiety, and depression, although there were no significant predictors of worry symptoms. In addition, number of children, depression, and social anxiety predicted postpartum relationship distress. These results suggest that postpartum anxiety disorders are more common than postpartum depression and worthy of systematic study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202-8380, USA. amy_wenzel@und.nodak.edu
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wenzel
authors.forename: Erin N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Haugen
authors.forename: Lydia C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: Jennifer R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Brendle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003710:Demography; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D013997:Time Factors