Postpartum depression in women with epilepsy versus women without epilepsy

The goal of this study was to determine if there is a significant difference in the rate of postpartum depression among patients with epilepsy and healthy controls. All patients were recruited from the Epilepsy Center and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Milan, St. Paolo Hospital (Milan, Italy). Thirty-five pregnant women with epilepsy and an equal number of pregnant women without epilepsy were assessed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), a clinical interview used to screen for postpartum depression (PPD), and a sociodemographic questionnaire. The rate of PPD in patients with epilepsy was statistically significantly higher than that of the controls (P < 0.05). PPD was present in 29% of the patients with epilepsy and 11% of the controls. In conclusion, it is very important to point out that in our pilot study, the rate of PPD was higher among women with epilepsy than among women without epilepsy. In this regard, women at higher PPD risk can be identified earlier and treated as soon as possible to alleviate their symptoms and improve their quality of life. (C) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.