LOS ANGELES — Half of adolescent mothers experience significant depression in the first year after giving birth, according to a study of 417 young mothers followed for 48 months.
The study included roughly equal numbers of Mexican American, African American, and Caucasian mothers who were enrolled within 48 hours of giving birth and then surveyed with a Beck Depression Inventory at 3, 12, 24, and 48 months. Each returned at least three of the four surveys, R. Michelle Schmidt, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.
The prevalence of depression, defined as moderate to severe symptoms on the inventory, was highest at 3 months (37%), said Dr. Schmidt of Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. After that, the prevalence steadily declined to 21% at 48 months.
Overall, 50% of the subjects had depression in the first year, and 57% had depression at some point during the study.
Depression, when it was present, appeared to persist. Eighty percent of those with depression at 3 months were also depressed at two or more other reporting periods. Moreover, 88% of those depressed at 48 months had been depressed at 12 months, and 15% had depression at every follow-up.
African American subjects had a prevalence of depression only half that of the two other groups at 3 months, and the prevalence among the African American subjects at 48 months was higher than it was at 24 months (20% vs. 16%).