ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Minerva Psichiatrica 2017 December;58(4):203-8

DOI: 10.23736/S0391-1772.17.01945-8

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

An exploratory study of identification of psychiatric disorders during pregnancy

Sahana A. BOGGARAM ¹, Hemendra SINGH ² ✉, Tadavarthi S. MANIKANTA ¹, Eswaran MAHESWARI ¹

¹ Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore, India; ² Department of Psychiatry, M.S. Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore, India

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is the time during which an offspring develops inside a woman and lasts for 40 weeks, causing a transformation in physiological, psychological and social perspective in women that can develop into emotional instability. These factors might expose women to develop psychiatric illnesses. Hence, identification and early management of psychiatric disorders during antenatal period can prevent further psychological and physiological complications to both mother and offspring.
METHODS: A cross sectional observational study was carried over a period of 6 months at Ramaiah Medical College & Hospitals, India. One hundred consecutive antenatal pregnant women who satisfied inclusion criteria, were assessed systematically for present of psychiatric disorders and severity of depression and anxiety by using Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Scale (M.I.N.I Scale), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) respectively.
RESULTS: Of these 100 antenatal women, 17 were identified with psychiatric illnesses. The mean age of antenatal women with psychiatric disorders was 23.82±6.02. Among those with psychiatric disorders, prevalence of dysthymic disorder, major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders was 23.52% (4/17), 5.88% (1/17), and 70.58% (12/17) respectively. Majority of these patients reported anxiety during third trimester (8/12=66.66%) while depression (1/1=100) and dysthymic disorder (4/4=100) during first trimester. Patients with anxiety and dysthymia also had other medical co-morbidities such as hypothyroidism, hypertension, gestational diabetes and epilepsy.
CONCLUSIONS: Psychiatric disorders are common during first and third trimester of pregnancy. Hence, we emphasize upon the importance of assessing all antenatal women for presence of psychiatric symptoms during each trimester to enhance safety of both the mother and offspring.

KEY WORDS: Mental disorders - Pregnancy - Depressive disorder, major - Anxiety disorders - Dysthymic disorders