Postnatal psychiatric morbidity: a validation study of the GHQ-12 and the EPDS as screening tools

Abstract Objective To assess the validity of the 12-Item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in screening for the most common postnatal psychiatric morbidities (mood, anxiety and adjustment disorders). Method A two-phase cross-sectional study was...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:General hospital psychiatry 2007, Vol.29 (1), p.1-7
Main Authors: Navarro, Purificación, B.S, Ascaso, Carlos, B.S., Ph.D, Garcia-Esteve, Lluïsa, M.D., Ph.D, Aguado, Jaume, B.S, Torres, Anna, B.S, Martín-Santos, Rocío, M.D., Ph.D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Cross-Sectional Studies
EPDS
Female
GHQ-12
Humans
Mass Screening - methods
Medical sciences
Postnatal anxiety
Postnatal depression
Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Puerperal Disorders - diagnosis
Puerperal Disorders - epidemiology
Puerperal Disorders - psychology
ROC Curve
Surveys and Questionnaires
Techniques and methods
Validation
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Summary:Abstract Objective To assess the validity of the 12-Item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in screening for the most common postnatal psychiatric morbidities (mood, anxiety and adjustment disorders). Method A two-phase cross-sectional study was designed. First, a sample of 1453 women visiting at 6 weeks postpartum completed the GHQ-12 and the EPDS questionnaires. Second, based upon EPDS outcomes, participants were stratified and randomly selected within each stratum for clinical evaluation [Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID)]. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used. Results The concurrent validity was satisfactory (0.80). At optimum cut-off scores, both GHQ-12 and EPDS yielded very good sensitivity (80; 85.5) and specificity (80.4; 85.3), respectively. ROC curves showed that the performance of the EPDS (AUC=0.933) is slightly superior to that of GHQ-12 (AUC=0.904). Conclusion Both GHQ-12 and EPDS are valid instruments to detect postnatal depression as well as postnatal anxiety and adjustment disorders.
ISSN:0163-8343
1873-7714
DOI:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2006.10.004