Summary
¶Background: The aim of this study was to determine whether women from ethnic minorities and/or birth in a non-English speaking country were at increased risk for postnatal depression.
Method: The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to screen a sample of 830 primiparous women 4 weeks after delivery. Ethnicity data was available on 743, and from these, 530 responses were received (71.3%).
Results: Two independent variables were found to be significantly associated with high EPDS scores. These were being non White (especially Asian; adjusted Odds Ratio 2.7, 95% CI 1.3–5.8) and being born in a non-English speaking country (Odds Ratio 1.9; 95% CI 1.0–3.5).
Limitations: The study was conducted using self rating questionnaires. There was only a 71% response overall, and a 50% response rate among the ethnic minority group.
Conclusions: Women from ethnic minorities or from a non-English speaking background should be regarded at high risk group for postnatal depression.
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In memory of Channi Kumar, died in September 2000.
Received February 19, 2003; accepted March 9, 2003 Published online May 9, 2003
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Onozawa, K., Kumar, R., Adams, D. et al. High EPDS scores in women from ethnic minorities living in London. Arch Womens Ment Health 6 (Suppl 2), s51–s55 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-003-0006-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-003-0006-8