Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran; Health Science Research Center, Addiction Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Formerly, Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.
J Psychosom Res. 2021 Dec;151:110650. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110650. Epub 2021 Oct 27.
Depression is the second leading cause of morbidity worldwide. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated risk factors of paternal postpartum depressive symptoms (PPD).
In a cross-sectional study, via a stratified random and convenience sampling method 591 couples who were referred to Mazandaran primary health centers between 2 and 8 weeks postpartum were recruited from March to October 2017. Couples were screened for depressive symptoms using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Fathers provided information on socio-demographic characteristics, life events, neonatal stressor, perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale), social support (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support), and general health status using General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) as well. Data was analyzed using multiple logistic regression.
Overall, 93 fathers (15.7%) and 188 mothers (31.8%) reported depressive symptoms above the cut-off EPDS score of 12. In the multiple logistic regression model, older age, maternal depressive symptoms, higher GHQ-12 scores and increased recent life events were related to paternal PPD. A significant inverse association was found between number of children and paternal PPD.
Depressive symptoms especially in first-time fathers following the birth of a child are not uncommon. Creating opportunities for men to access special health care services, parental education to help adapting to parenthood, screening programs, and psychiatric/psychosocial interventions to decrease suffering of depression for both depressed parents are recommended.
抑郁症是全球第二大致病原因。本研究旨在评估父亲产后抑郁症状（PPD）的患病率及其相关危险因素。
在一项横断面研究中，通过分层随机和便利抽样方法，于 2017 年 3 月至 10 月招募了 591 对在马赞达兰初级保健中心产后 2 至 8 周的夫妇。使用爱丁堡产后抑郁量表（EPDS）对夫妇进行抑郁症状筛查。父亲提供了社会人口统计学特征、生活事件、新生儿应激源、感知压力（感知压力量表）、社会支持（多维感知社会支持量表）和一般健康状况（一般健康问卷 12 项）的信息。使用多因素逻辑回归分析数据。
共有 93 名父亲（15.7%）和 188 名母亲（31.8%）报告的 EPDS 评分超过 12 分的抑郁症状。在多因素逻辑回归模型中，年龄较大、母亲抑郁症状、较高的 GHQ-12 评分和近期生活事件增加与父亲 PPD 相关。孩子数量与父亲 PPD 呈显著负相关。
在孩子出生后，特别是初为人父的男性，出现抑郁症状并不罕见。建议为男性提供获得特殊保健服务的机会、父母教育以帮助适应父母身份、筛查计划和精神科/心理社会干预，以减轻父母双方的抑郁痛苦。
