title: The Pregnancy Depression Scale (PDS): a screening tool for depression in pregnancy.
abstract: Depression in pregnancy can be underdiagnosed as a consequence of the symptoms being misattributed to "normal pregnancy." There are currently no validated clinician-rated scales that assess for depression specifically during pregnancy. We sought to develop a brief, convenient screening tool to identify depression in pregnant women in the community setting. Prospective mood data using the 28-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) were collected monthly in 196 pregnant women with a history of a major depressive disorder. These data were analyzed to delineate those HDRS items associated (elevated) with normal pregnancy vs. those indicative of a pregnant woman meeting diagnostic criteria for a major depressive episode. Endorsement of symptoms on seven items of the HDRS were highly predictive of having a major depressive episode during pregnancy. We present a well-validated, brief scale to screen pregnant women for clinical depression. Whether this study will generalize to women who do not have a history of major depression remains to be studied.
authors.affiliation: Mood Disorders Research Program, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, PO Box 957057, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7057, USA. laltshuler@mednet.ucla.edu
authors.forename: Lori L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Altshuler
authors.forename: Lee S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Allison F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Vitonis
authors.forename: Stephen V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Faraone
authors.forename: Bernard L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Harlow
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Suri
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Frieder
authors.forename: Zachary N
authors.initials: ZN
authors.lastname: Stowe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies