The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a 10-item questionnaire that was developed to identify women who have
postpartum depression
Postpartum depression (PPD), also called postnatal depression, is a type of mood disorder associated with childbirth, which can affect both sexes. Symptoms may include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and cha ...
. Items of the scale correspond to various
clinical depression
Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...
symptoms, such as guilt feeling, sleep disturbance, low energy,
anhedonia
Anhedonia is a diverse array of deficits in hedonic function, including reduced motivation or ability to experience pleasure. While earlier definitions emphasized the inability to experience pleasure, anhedonia is currently used by researchers t ...
, and
suicidal ideation. Overall assessment is done by total score, which is determined by adding together the scores for each of the 10 items. Higher scores indicate more depressive symptoms.
The EPDS may be used within 8 weeks postpartum and it also can be applied for depression screening during
pregnancy
Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins.
Pregnancy usually occur ...
.
The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale is a widely used depression
screening tool, which has been adapted and validated in many languages.
History
The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was first developed (1987) by Scottish health centres in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
and
Livingston.
[http://www2.illinois.gov/hfs/MedicalProvider/MaternalandChildHealthPromotion/Pages/Edinburgh.aspx ,]
See also
*
Diagnostic classification and rating scales used in psychiatry
Diagnosis is the identification of the nature and cause of a certain phenomenon. Diagnosis is used in many different disciplines, with variations in the use of logic, analytics, and experience, to determine " cause and effect". In systems engin ...
References
{{Depression rating scales
Depression screening and assessment tools