Study On The Efficacy Of The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale In Parturients Of Chengdu

Objectives:To evaluate the utility of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) when used in parturients of Chengdu and make optimal critical value for it. To modify the EPDS and shape the Chinese version EPDS which suits Chinese culture in the mainland.Methods:Following translation and back translation, the EPDS was commented by six experts, then a prospective study was conducted in three maternity hospitals in Chengdu.The subjects comprised 732 women who were admitted to the postnatal wards of the Department of Obstetrics over a period from October 1st 2006 to January 10th 2007.Those who refused to cooperate or had psychiosis,such as anxiety neurosis, phobia and personality disorder, were excluded from the study. Written informed consent was obtained before other data were collected. The subjects then completed the EPDS and the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory(BDI) independently within 20 minutes.All data were put into the computer for statistical analysis using SPSS for Windows 11.5. The internal consistency of the scale was measured by Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and the concurrent validity against the BDI was also evaluated. Then appropriate critical values for the EPDS were made by drawing the receiver operator characteristic curve and comparing the sensitivity and specificity at various cut-off points.Results:1.When the EPDS was translated, the concordance rate was 100%,and whenback translated by an expert, the concordance rate was also 100%.2.The content validity ratio of the EPDS was up to 0.9333 when it wasevaluated by a panel composed of six experts, the Cronbach's alphacoefficient of the EPDS was 0.76,and the spearman correlation coefficientbetween the EPDS and BDI scores was 0.584(P<0.001).3.Taking the BDI as the standard, 5/6 was the optimal cut-off score for theEPDS to identify mild postpartum depression,and 9/10 for screening formoderate and severe postpartum depression.Conclusions:1.The EPDS is sensitive to local dialect and culture, it has satisfactoryvalidity, so it is a satisfactory instrument for screening for postpartumdepression in parturients of Chengdu.2.The EPDS has appropriate cut-off scores, at which it is sensitive to identifypostpartum depression in parturients of Chengdu.3.The EPDS is very concise, it is easy to read and understand, and it is wellreceived by mainland Chinese parturients and researchers.Significances:1 .It lays the foundation for future researches related to postpartumdepression.2.It provides instrument for preliminary screening of postpartum depression.