Centre for Health Economics, Alcuin block A, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom.
J Affect Disord. 2011 Sep;133(1-2):356-60. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2011.04.005. Epub 2011 May 10.
There is growing evidence that fathers experience depressive symptoms following the birth of a child. The aim of this study was to estimate the healthcare costs of paternal postnatal depression, thereby informing research into cost-effective preventative and treatment interventions for the condition.
Data on healthcare resource-use over the first 12 months postpartum was collected from 192 fathers recruited from two postnatal wards in southern England. Three groups of fathers were identified: fathers with depression (n=31), fathers at high risk of developing depression (n=67) and fathers without depression (n=94).
Mean father-child dyad costs were estimated at £ 1103.51, £ 1075.06 and £ 945.03 (£ sterling, 2008 prices) in these three groups, respectively (P=0.796). After controlling for potentially confounding factors, paternal depression was associated with significantly higher community care costs.
This study provides useful preliminary insights into the healthcare costs associated with paternal depression during the postnatal period.
The small sample size may, in part, account for the failure to detect statistically significant differences in mean costs between study groups for most cost categories.
越来越多的证据表明，父亲在孩子出生后会出现抑郁症状。本研究旨在估算父亲产后抑郁的医疗保健成本，从而为该病症的经济有效的预防和治疗干预措施的研究提供信息。
从英格兰南部的两个产后病房招募了 192 名父亲，收集了他们产后 12 个月内的医疗资源使用数据。确定了三组父亲：患有抑郁症的父亲（n=31）、有患抑郁症高风险的父亲（n=67）和没有抑郁症的父亲（n=94）。
这三组的父亲-孩子对子的平均成本分别估计为 1103.51 英镑、1075.06 英镑和 945.03 英镑（£ 2008 年的价格）（P=0.796）。在控制了潜在的混杂因素后，父亲的抑郁与社区护理费用显著增加有关。
本研究为产后期间与父亲抑郁相关的医疗保健成本提供了有用的初步见解。
样本量小，可能部分解释了在大多数成本类别中，研究组之间的平均成本没有统计学意义差异的原因。
