Fawcett EJ, Fairbrother N, Cox ML, White IR, Fawcett JM. The Prevalence of Anxiety Disorders During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period: A Multivariate Bayesian Meta-Analysis.
J Clin Psychiatry 2019;
80:18r12527. [PMID:
31347796 PMCID:
PMC6839961 DOI:
10.4088/jcp.18r12527]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 229] [Impact Index Per Article: 45.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2018] [Accepted: 03/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the prevalence of anxiety disorders in pregnant and postpartum women and identify predictors accounting for variability across estimates.
DATA SOURCES
An electronic search of PsycINFO and PubMed was conducted from inception until July 2016, without date or language restrictions, and supplemented by articles referenced in the obtained sources. A Boolean search phrase utilized a combination of keywords related to pregnancy, postpartum, prevalence, and specific anxiety disorders.
STUDY SELECTION
Articles reporting the prevalence of 1 or more of 8 common anxiety disorders in pregnant or postpartum women were included. A total of 2,613 records were retrieved, with 26 studies ultimately included.
DATA EXTRACTION
Anxiety disorder prevalence and potential predictor variables (eg, parity) were extracted from each study. A Bayesian multivariate modeling approach estimated the prevalence and between-study heterogeneity of each disorder and the prevalence of having 1 or more anxiety disorder.
RESULTS
Individual disorder prevalence estimates ranged from 1.1% for posttraumatic stress disorder to 4.8% for specific phobia, with the prevalence of having at least 1 or more anxiety disorder estimated to be 20.7% (95% highest density interval [16.7% to 25.4%]). Substantial between-study heterogeneity was observed, suggesting that "true" prevalence varies broadly across samples. There was evidence of a small (3.1%) tendency for pregnant women to be more susceptible to anxiety disorders than postpartum women.
CONCLUSIONS
Peripartum anxiety disorders are more prevalent than previously thought, with 1 in 5 women in a typical sample meeting diagnostic criteria for at least 1 disorder. These findings highlight the need for anxiety screening, education, and referral in obstetrics and gynecology settings.
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