Postpartum depression symptoms among Amazonian and Northeast Brazilian women

- Brazil's Northeast (19.0%) and Amazon regions (20.3%) PPD prevalences (p=0.3).
- Low education level and ethnicity were risk factors for postpartum depression.
- Prenatal visits' number and quality (subjective/objective) were also risk factors.
- Screening and treatment of pregnant women should be a public health priority.
- Different approaches to methodology should be stimulated in further studies.

BackgroundStudies analyzing the prevalence of postpartum depression in Brazil have recently increased. However, few studies have examined the Northeast region of Brazil, and no studies have investigated the Amazon region. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate postpartum depression in these two regions.MethodsWe administered the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale to a total of 3060 women who used the Brazilian public health system and had given birth between one and three months prior to the interview. A cut-off score ≥11 was used to indicate symptoms of postpartum depression. After calculating the prevalence, univariate logistic regressions were performed separately for several possible risk factors (p<0.05).ResultsThe overall rate of reported symptoms of postpartum depression was 19.5%. The prevalence in the northeast region and Amazon region were 19.0% and 20.3%, respectively (p=0.36). In the univariate logistic regression, low education level (<7 years: p<0.001; 8-10 years: p=0.003), ethnicity (Black: p=0.02; Pardo: p=0.02), few prenatal visits (1 or 2 visits: p=0.04), prenatal care self-assessed as “not very good” (p<0.001) and the prenatal care adequacy index of partially suitable (p=0.01) or not suitable (p<0.001) were identified as significant risk factors for postpartum depression symptoms.LimitationsMothers who did not bring their children for immunization. The cross-sectional study does not allow for causality to be established. Conclusion: the prevalence rates of postpartum depression were similar to the rates observed for developing countries and higher than the rates observed in developed countries. Based on these findings, we recommend that screening and treatment of pregnant women should be considered a public health priority.