Prevalence and associated risk factors for paternal peripartum depression among partners to women attending two maternal & child health clinics in Gombak district / Mohamad Yaakob Yusof

Background: Paternal Peripartum Depression (PPPD) is increasingly studied. The factors associated with PPPD are inconsistent and require further exploration and until this study was conducted, there was no published data on PPPD in Malaysia. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and factors associated with PPPD among partners to women attending two health clinics in Gombak District.
Method: This was a cross-sectional study. The women who attended maternal and child health clinic (MCHC) in Sungai Buloh Health Clinic and Taman Ehsan Health Clinic between June to December 2021 were approached. The inclusion criteria included: men who are ≥ 18 years old, male partner to women attending MCHC for antenatal or postnatal clinic or who has had a baby up to one year and men who are able to read and understand Malay or English language. The exclusion criterion included: man, who was diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) and receiving treatment for the condition. Those who agreed were given a Google form link or hardcopy questionnaire for their male partners. The questionnaire consisted of socio-demographic details, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) questionnaire, and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) questionnaire. Those with EPDS s 10 were considered to have PPPD. Sample size for this study was 350. Data were analysed using SPSS version 26 where descriptive analysis was used to describe the socio-demographic characteristics, simple and multiple logistic regression to find associated factors with PPPD.
Results: A total of 381 participants were analysed. The mean age of participants was 32.72 years old (SD±5.648). The prevalence of PPPD in this population was 12.4%. There were two significant factors: the presence of chronic disease with p-value of 0.039, odd ratio (OR) of 2.384 and 95% confidence interval (Cl) of (1.043,5.450) and low-to-moderate social support with p-value of 0.026, OR of 2.176 and Cl of (1.095,4.324) were risk factors for PPPD.
Conclusion: The prevalence from this study was equivalent to other international studies. Low social support is a known factor, but the presence of chronic disease is a new finding. It is important to consider these factors when screening for PPPD.