Postpartum Depression and Health Services Expenditures Among Employed Women

Objective: To investigate the association of postpartum depression with health services expenditures among employed women. Methods: Women, aged 18 years and older, were recruited from three community hospitals in Minnesota while hospitalized for childbirth in 2001. Using Andersen's Behavioral M...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of occupational and environmental medicine 2012-02, Vol.54 (2), p.210-215
Main Authors: Dagher, Rada K., McGovern, Patricia M., Dowd, Bryan E., Gjerdingen, Dwenda K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Biological and medical sciences
Births
Depression
Depression, Postpartum - economics
Depression, Postpartum - epidemiology
Depression, Postpartum - psychology
Employment - economics
Employment - psychology
Employment - statistics & numerical data
Female
Health care expenditures
Health Expenditures - statistics & numerical data
Health Services - economics
Health Services - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Medical sciences
Minnesota - epidemiology
Mood disorders
Occupational health
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Postpartum depression
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Surveys and Questionnaires
Womens health
Young Adult
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Summary:Objective: To investigate the association of postpartum depression with health services expenditures among employed women. Methods: Women, aged 18 years and older, were recruited from three community hospitals in Minnesota while hospitalized for childbirth in 2001. Using Andersen's Behavioral Model, we regressed the natural log of the price-weighted sum of self-reported health services used from hospital discharge until 11 weeks postpartum on depression status at 5 weeks postpartum (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale). Results: Five percent of the women met the depression threshold. Two-stage least squares analyses showed that depressed women incurred 90% higher health services expenditures than nondepressed women. Older age, poverty, non—public assistance insurance status, and increased maternal symptoms also were associated with higher expenditures. Conclusions: Higher health expenditures among postpartum depressed women highlight the importance of addressing mental health issues in the workplace.
ISSN:1076-2752
1536-5948
DOI:10.1097/JOM.0b013e31823fdf85