A longitudinal study of psychiatric symptoms in primiparous women: relation to personality disorders and sociodemographic factors.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the prevalence of personality disorders (PDs) and elucidate the importance of PDs, sociodemographics and health-related factors for the development of psychiatric symptoms in primiparous women.


METHODS
625 primiparous women were assessed during pregnancy, three and 18 months following delivery. The Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), the modified SCID-screen questionnaire and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF) were used.


RESULTS
The prevalence of PDs was 6.4%. PD was strongly associated with psychiatric symptoms during and after pregnancy. The most important factor predicting long-lasting mental problems was having a PD. A higher level of psychiatric symptoms was found in pregnancy than postpartum. Psychiatric caseness during pregnancy was strongly associated with caseness postpartum. In addition, socio-economic status, younger age and previous treatment for mental problems were identified as risk factors.


CONCLUSIONS
The study indicates a strong association between long-lasting psychiatric illness and personality disorders in childbearing women. A strong association was also found between psychiatric symptoms during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Börjesson
K
K
Karolinska Institutet, Neurotec Department, Division of Psychiatry, Karolinska University Hospital/Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden.
Ruppert
S
S
Bågedahl-Strindlund
M
M
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009769:Object Attachment; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010298:Parity; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament