title: Severe fatigue and depressive symptoms in lower-income urban postpartum women.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to identify whether severe postpartum fatigue at 1 and 3 months postpartum was associated with depressive symptomatology at 6 months in lower-income urban women. A convenience sample of 43 lower-income postpartum women completed the Modified Fatigue Symptoms Checklist and Edinburgh Postpartum Depression scale at 1, 3, and 6 months postpartum. Participants who were severely fatigued at both 1 and 3 months postpartum were significantly more likely to exhibit depressive symptomatology at 6 months. Fatigue and depressive symptoms were moderately to strongly correlated at 1 (r = .68), 3 (r = .74), and 6 (r = .70) months postpartum (p = .001). Severe fatigue and depressive symptomatology often co-exist for months after childbirth. Future research should examine whether interventions to targeting severe postpartum fatigue in lower-income urban women may also effectively reduce depressive symptoms.
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA. runquist@uwm.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Doering Runquist
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Morin
authors.forename: Frank C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Stetzer
mesh_terms: D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011203:Poverty; D014505:Urban Population