SynthesisBMC psychiatry2017
A systematic review of screening instruments for depression for use in antenatal services in low resource settings.
Synthesis in BMC psychiatry, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Prevalence of co-morbid anxiety and depression in pregnancy and postpartum: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychological medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Tools for screening maternal mental health conditions in primary care settings in sub-Saharan Africa: systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Validated screening tools to identify common mental disorders in perinatal and postpartum women in India: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Validation of chichewa version of the city birth trauma scale at postnatal clinics in Lilongwe, Malawi.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Identification, Prevention, and Treatment of Perinatal Depression in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Narrative Review.Biological psychiatry · 2026Review
- Article
- Prevalence of Depressive Symptoms Amongst Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinics at Quaternary Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Management of postnatal depression: A systematic review of clinical practice guidelines.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2025Review
- Longitudinal gut microbiota composition during the perinatal period in women with different intensities of depressive symptoms.Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999) · 2025Article
- Validating the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale Against the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition for Use in Uganda.International journal of women's health · 2023Article
- The impact of telemental health interventions on maternal mental health outcomes: a pilot randomized controlled trial during the COVID-19 pandemic.Health psychology and behavioral medicine · 2023Article
- Reliability and validity of a perinatal depression screening instrument in rural Mali.SSM. Mental health · 2022Article
- Antenatal depression and its associated factors among women of Godawari Municipality, Lalitpur, Nepal: a cross-sectional study.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Construct validity and factor structure of the K-10 among Ugandan adults.Journal of affective disorders · 2022Article
- Acceptability and feasibility of a screening protocol for antenatal depression (SPADe) in Blantyre District, Malawi.BMC psychiatry · 2022Article
- Construct Validity and Responsiveness of Instruments Measuring Depression and Anxiety in Pregnancy: A Comparison of EPDS, HADS-A and CES-D.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Systematic review on the prevalence of perinatal depression in Malawi.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2022Article
- The magnitude and determinants of depressive symptoms amongst women in early pregnancy in Southern Nigeria: A cross-sectional study.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2022Article
- Is there an optimal screening tool for identifying perinatal depression within clinical settings of sub-Saharan Africa?SSM. Mental health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn low resource settings, short, valid and reliable instruments with good high sensitivity and specificity are essential for the screening of depression in antenatal care. A review of published evidence on screening instruments for depression for use in antenatal services in low resource settings was conducted. The aim of this review was to appraise the best available evidence on screening instruments suitable for detecting depression in antenatal care in low resource settings.
methodsSearching, selection, quality assessment, and data abstraction was done by two reviewers. ScienceDirect, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed, SABINET and PsychARTICLES databases were searched using relevant search terms. Retrieved studies were evaluated for relevancy (whether psychometric data were reported) and quality. Data were synthesised and sensitivity and specificity of instruments were pooled using forest plots.
resultsEleven articles were included in the review. The methodological quality ranged from adequate to excellent. The review found 7 tools with varying levels of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity, including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Beck Depression Index, Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale 20, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-25, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale and Self-Reporting Questionnaire. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was most common and had the highest level of accuracy (AUC = .965) and sensitivity.
conclusionThis review suggests that the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale can be a suitable instrument of preference for screening antenatal depression in low resource settings because of the reported level of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. PROSPERO REGISTRATION: CRD42015020316 .
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