Logo image
Back
Minor depressive disorder in the context of miscarriage
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Minor depressive disorder in the context of miscarriage

Claudia M. Klier, Pamela A. Geller and Richard Neugebauer
Journal of affective disorders, v 59(1), pp 13-21
2000
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-0327(99)00126-3
PMID: 10814766
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

Cohort design DSM-IV criteria Major depression Minor depression Miscarriage
Background: Although minor depressive disorder is of considerable clinical and public health importance, it has received limited research attention relative to major depressive disorder. This study examines the incidence rate and relative risk for minor depressive disorder following miscarriage. Methods: Using a cohort design we tested whether miscarrying women are at increased risk for an episode of minor depression (diagnosed based on research criteria proposed in Appendix B of DSM-IV) in the 6 months following loss. The miscarriage cohort consisted of women attending a medical center for spontaneous abortion ( n=229); the comparison group was a population-based cohort of women drawn from the community ( n=230). Results: Among miscarrying women, 5.2% experienced an episode of minor depression, compared with 1.0% of community women. The overall relative risk for an episode of minor depression for miscarrying women was 5.2 (95% confidence interval, 1.2–23.6). Relative risk did not vary by length of gestation at the time of loss or attitude toward the pregnancy. The majority of episodes in miscarrying women began within 1 month following loss. Limitations: Minor depression was relatively rare in both study cohorts. The resulting limits on statistical power reduced our ability to identify factors, such as sociodemographic or reproductive history variables that might moderate the effect of miscarriage on risk for minor depression. Conclusions: These results, in the context of prior work showing increased risks of major depression and depressive symptoms following miscarriage, lend some support to the conceptualization of minor depressive disorder as part of a continuum of symptom severity. Miscarrying women should be evaluated for depression at their follow-up medical visits.

Metrics

10 Record Views
59 citations in Web of Science
69 citations in Scopus

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being
#5 Gender Equality

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Clinical Neurology
Psychiatry
Logo image