Postpartum Depression and Anxiety among Lebanese Women: Correlates and Scales Psychometric Properties

Eva Hobeika, Diana Malaeb, Sahar Obeid, Pascale Salameh, Elie Hobeika, Miguella Outayek, Marwan Akel, Nelly Kheir, Zaki Sleiman, Habib Barakat, Souheil Hallit

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: We found that it was important to fill a gap in the literature and check the psychometric properties of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS) in the Arabic language and delineate factors associated with postnatal depression (PPD) and anxiety (PPA) among Lebanese women 4–6 weeks after delivery. Methods: This cross-sectional study carried out between July 2018 and March 2019 enrolled 295 participants who came for a postnatal checkup at four clinics. Results: The EPDS and PASS scales’ items converged over two- and four-factor solutions, explaining 62.51% and 53.33% of the variance, respectively (KMO EPDS = 0.816, αCronbach EPDS = 0.826; KMO PASS = 0.878, αCronbach PASS = 0.920; Bartlett’s test of sphericity p < 0.001). Higher postpartum anxiety (Beta = 0.256), higher postpartum insomnia (Beta = 0.079), having hypotension during pregnancy (Beta = 2.760), and having a second (Beta = 1.663) or a third baby or more (Beta = 2.470) compared with the first one were significantly associated with higher postpartum depression. Higher postpartum depression (Beta = 1.33) was significantly associated with higher postpartum anxiety, whereas having a baby through a planned pregnancy (Beta = −4.365) and having a baby who ate regularly (Beta = −3.639) were significantly associated with lower postpartum anxiety. Conclusion: Depression and anxiety prevalence rates in the Lebanese population were higher compared with other countries, which may be due in part to the differences in regional, social and environmental culture.

Original languageEnglish
Article number201
JournalHealthcare (Switzerland)
Volume11
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • anxiety
  • depression
  • factors
  • Lebanon
  • postpartum

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