Time to Screen Postpartum Women for Depression and Suicidality to Save Lives?
We just found out recommending screening of postpartum women does not lead to more diagnoses of previously undetected depression. Warnings about bipolar disorder are bonkers.
January 2024 introduction
A decade ago, debates were raging in several different medical settings as to whether screening for distress or depression would improve mental and physical health outcomes. Screening for perinatal depression—during care for pregnancy or in postpartum follow-up— was a particularly contentious discussion. A study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh psychiatrist Katherine Wisner became a crucial battlefield.
I was a member of a dream team that had just won international recognition and praise from the editor-in-chief of JAMA for our article that framed the questions for cardiovascular care.
Thombs BD, De Jonge P, Coyne JC, Whooley MA, Frasure-Smith N, Mitchell AJ, Zuidersma M, Eze-Nliam C, Lima BB, Smith CG, Soderlund K. Depression screening and patient outcomes in cardiovascular care: a systematic review. JAMA. 2008 Nov 12;300(18):2161-71.
We argued that questions had to be formulated in a framework proposed by the US Prevention Task Force.
Our terse conc…