Prevalence and Associations of Depression in Parents of Children With Congenital Talipes Equinovarus: A Single-Centre Study.

introductionCongenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV) is a congenital deformity that requires weekly visits to the hospital for manipulation and corrective cast application, followed by an intensive bracing regimen requiring multiple visits to the hospital spread over the years. Parents of children with clubfoot are known to undergo a range of negative emotions. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence of depression and the factors associated with depression in parents of children with idiopathic CTEV.

methodsThis cross-sectional study consecutively enrolled 190 parents of children with idiopathic CTEV undergoing treatment at King George Medical University. Parents with conditions that preclude the assessment of mental status were not included. These conditions include a history of head injury or psychiatric illness, parents with ongoing treatment of psychiatric illness, ongoing chronic illness, chronic neurological disease, and parents with clinically established intellectual disability. Information was recorded on certain parent-related characteristics and certain child-related characteristics. Parent-related information included age and sex of the parent, religion, area of residence, number of children in the family, degree of perceived social support (using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, MSPSS), level of education, socio-economic status, depression subscale score of DASS 21 (Depression, Depression Anxiety, and Stress Scale -21), chronic pain (visual analogue scale, VAS), family history of clubfoot or depression, and level of stress caused by a major life event during the past year using the Presumptive Stressful Life Event Scale (PSLES). Child-related information included the sex of the child, phase of treatment (casting or bracing), limb involvement (unilateral or bilateral), relapse of the deformity, and Pirani score of the deformity. Bivariate analysis and logistic regression were used to identify factors associated with a score ≥10 on the depression subscale of DASS 21.

resultsOne hundred forty-five subjects were males (76.3%). The mean age of the enrolled parents was 28.47±4.89 years. The mean score on the depression subscale of DASS-21 was 4.87±6.3. Thirty-two parents (16.8%) had a score of ≥10 on the depression subscale of the DASS-21. On bivariate analysis, female sex, being Hindu, having studied up to class 12th, relapse, MSPSS score, and PSLES score were found to be associated with a score ≥10 on the depression subscale of the DASS-21. On logistic regression, female sex, lack of graduate education and above, and MSPSS scores were found to be significantly associated with a score of ≥10 on the depression subscale of the DASS 21 score.

conclusionThe prevalence of depression in parents of children with idiopathic clubfoot was 16.8%. Female gender, lack of college education, and the level of perceived social support (MSPSS) are independently associated with a score ≥10 on the depression subscale of DASS 21. We recommend screening parents of children with clubfoot and referring those with abnormal scores to a psychiatrist for a confirmed diagnosis.