Pathways to perinatal depressive symptoms after mass conflict in Timor-Leste: a modelling analysis using cross-sectional data

Publication date: February 2015 Source:The Lancet Psychiatry, Volume 2, Issue 2 Author(s): Derrick Silove , Susan Rees , Alvin Kuowei Tay , Zelia Maria da Costa , Elisa Soares Savio , Cesarina Soares , Wietse Tol Background The contributions of potentially traumatic events (PTEs) of mass conflict and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms to perinatal depression in women living in low-income, post-conflict countries are unclear. We tested a model including these factors, intimate partner violence (IPV), and continuing adversity in women in Timor-Leste. Methods Our modelling study used cross-sectional data from a sample of women living in two districts in Timor-Leste, identified through service registers, clinic records, village chiefs, and a door-to-door survey between June, 2012, and June, 2013. Eligible women were 3–6 months pregnant or 3–6 months postpartum. We assessed conflict-related PTEs, IPV, continuing adversity (poverty and insecurity), PTSD symptoms (the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire), and maternal depressive symptoms (the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale [EPDS]) to develop a theoretical model to examine pathways leading directly and indirectly to depressive symptoms. Findings We assessed 427 eligible women, of whom 258 (60%) were pregnant and 169 (40%) were postnatal. 87 (22%) of 387 women who were given the EPDS to complete were above the threshold used to define depression, and 40 (9%) of 427 were regarded as having PTSD. Our most c...
Source: The Lancet Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research