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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
Assessment of perinatal anxiety: diagnostic accuracy of five measures
British journal of psychiatry, Vol.224(4), pp.132-138
04/2024
PMID: 38270148
Appears in Recent Faculty of Health Publications
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Source: InCites
Abstract
Background
Anxiety in pregnancy and after giving birth (the perinatal period) is highly prevalent but under-recognised. Robust methods of assessing perinatal anxiety are essential for services to identify and treat women appropriately.
Aims
To determine which assessment measures are most psychometrically robust and effective at identifying women with perinatal anxiety (primary objective) and depression (secondary objective).
Method
We conducted a prospective longitudinal cohort study of 2243 women who completed five measures of anxiety and depression (Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD) two- and seven-item versions; Whooley questions; Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (CORE-10); and Stirling Antenatal Anxiety Scale (SAAS)) during pregnancy (15 weeks, 22 weeks and 31 weeks) and after birth (6 weeks). To assess diagnostic accuracy a sample of 403 participants completed modules of the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI).
Results
The best diagnostic accuracy for anxiety was shown by the CORE-10 and SAAS. The best diagnostic accuracy for depression was shown by the CORE-10, SAAS and Whooley questions, although the SAAS had lower specificity. The same cut-off scores for each measure were optimal for identifying anxiety or depression (SAAS ≥9; CORE-10 ≥9; Whooley ≥1). All measures were psychometrically robust, with good internal consistency, convergent validity and unidimensional factor structure.
Conclusions
This study identified robust and effective methods of assessing perinatal anxiety and depression. We recommend using the CORE-10 or SAAS to assess perinatal anxiety and the CORE-10 or Whooley questions to assess depression. The GAD-2 and GAD-7 did not perform as well as other measures and optimal cut-offs were lower than currently recommended.
Details
- Title
- Assessment of perinatal anxiety: diagnostic accuracy of five measures
- Creators
- Susan Ayers - City University LondonRose Coates - City University of LondonAndrea Sinesi - University of StirlingHelen Cheyne - University of StirlingMargaret Maxwell - University of StirlingCatherine Best - University of StirlingStacey McNicol - University of StirlingLouise R Williams - City University of LondonNazihah Uddin - City University of LondonUna Hutton - City University of LondonGrace Howard - King's College LondonJudy Shakespeare - Retired GP, Oxford, UKJames J Walker - St James's University HospitalFiona Alderdice - Queen's University BelfastJulie Jomeen - Southern Cross UniversityMAP Study Team
- Publication Details
- British journal of psychiatry, Vol.224(4), pp.132-138
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Grant note
- NIHR 17/105/16 / National Institute for Health and Care Research
- Identifiers
- 991013163002002368
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Academic Unit
- Nursing; Faculty of Health
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article