Spousal military deployment as a risk factor for postpartum XXXX .

@entity1 @entity308
OBJECTIVE: To compare the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) results in @entity1 whose spouses had deployed during or after pregnancy vs. those whose spouses had not. STUDY DESIGN: A chart review of 6-week postpartum visits of @entity1 with active-duty spouses was conducted over 10 months. Associations between military deployments and EPDS score were examined by Student's t test, and rates of positive screens (with a cutoff of 12) between groups were compared by odds ratio (OR). Linear regression was used to calculate predictors of EPDS score. RESULTS: A total of 415 charts were analyzed. The average EPDS score of @entity1 whose partner did deploy during the pregnancy was 7.36 compared to 4.81 for those whose partners did not (p < 0.001). The percentage of positive screens for @entity1 whose partner deployed during the pregnancy was 25.27% compared with 10.94% for an OR of 2.75 (p < 0.001). Linear regression showed partner's deployment during pregnancy to be an independent predictor of EPDS score (p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: Deployment of a spouse during pregnancy may be a risk factor for @entity308 . Aggressive screening of this at-risk population is recommended.
