Prevalence and Factors Associated With Postpartum Depression in Fathers: A Regional, Longitudinal Study in Japan

Abstract

Paternal postpartum depression may affect not only the mental health and wellbeing of fathers but their partners and children. We investigated the point and period prevalence of paternal postpartum depression and its association with factors measured during pregnancy in a regional longitudinal study in Nishio City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, between December 1, 2012, and April 30, 2013. Data were collected once in pregnancy and five times in the first three months postpartum. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was used to assess paternal depression, and data were collected in pregnancy on demographic and psychosocial factors. Of 215 fathers who returned at least one of the five postpartum assessments, 36 (17%) reported symptoms of depression in the first three months after birth. In logistic regression analyses, among a number of demographic and psychosocial characteristics that previously had been linked to paternal postpartum depression, only fathers' history of psychiatric treatment and depressive symptoms during pregnancy were associated with paternal depressive symptoms in the postnatal period. The results add to the growing body of evidence on prevalence of paternal postnatal depression and indicate that assessment and support for fathers are important starting in pregnancy. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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“…In this study, 70 (17%) (95%CI: 13.36–20.64) partners had depression; this showed that a significant proportion of partners were suffering from PPPD. This figure goes in line with studies conducted in Saudi Arabia, 32 Japan, 34 and Northwest China 35 where the prevalence of PPPD was 16.6%, 16.7%, and 13.6%, respectively. This might be due to variation in study population, study time variation of the study between previous study and this study.…”

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“…According to different hypotheses, different types of drugs were used to treat depression, but western medicine had poor compliance and high recurrence rate of symptoms. Depression can occur alone or with a variety of diseases, such as post-stroke depression (Mattias et al, 2016), perimenopausal depression (Miao et al, 2017), and postpartum depression (Kirkan et al, 2015, Suto et al, 2016). Since depression is accompanied by varying degrees of emotional disorder, a little stimulation can aggravate mental burden and even endanger life, so it is very necessary to adopt the methods and drugs that are easy for patients to accept.…”

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“…A previous Japanese study of fathers in postpartum period found that the proportion of men judged to be suffering from postpartum depression in terms of their EPDS score 4 months after childbirth was 13.6%, 2 and a study carried out in the same geographical area as our study found that the period prevalence from a few days to 3 months after childbirth was 16.7%. 3 We therefore assume that the period prevalence for postnatal depression (EPDS score ≥8) among men at 1 and 3 months after childbirth in the absence of intervention (control group) will be 16.7%. Calculated on the basis of a 5% significance level and 80% power, the number of participants (in the intervention group) required to demonstrate that the intervention reduced the rate of postnatal depression compared with the control group to 6% would be 148 men (148 couples), to 7% would be 189 men (189 couples), to 8% would be 241 men (241 couples), and to 9% would be 317 men (317 couples).…”

“… 2 In our previous study, we also found that 16.7% were at risk of mental health problems at one or more out of five time points between a few days and 3 months post partum. 3 …”