Employment, income, and education and risk of postpartum depression: The Osaka Maternal and Child Health Study

• Published in: Journal of affective disorders Vol. 130; no. 1-2; pp. 133 - 137
• Main Authors: Miyake, Yoshihiro, Tanaka, Keiko, Sasaki, Satoshi, Hirota, Yoshio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier B.V 01.04.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Birth Weight; Confidence Intervals; Depression; Depression, Postpartum - epidemiology; Depression, Postpartum - etiology; Depression, Postpartum - psychology; Education; Educational Status; Employment; Employment - psychology; Employment - statistics & numerical data; Female; Households; Humans; Income; Income - statistics & numerical data; Japan; Japan - epidemiology; Medical sciences; Mood disorders; Occupations; Odds Ratio; Part time employment; Postnatal depression; Postpartum depression; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications - psychology; Prospective study; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Risk Factors; Unemployment - psychology; Unemployment - statistics & numerical data; Asia; Japan; Postpartum depression; Education; Employment; Prospective study; Japan; Income; Human; Mood disorder; Depression; Maternal diseases; Puerperium; Mother and child health care; Follow up study; Risk factor; Woman
• ISSN: 0165-0327; 1573-2517; 1573-2517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2010.10.024

Epidemiological evidence regarding the associations of employment, income, and education with the risk of postpartum depression is inconsistent. This prospective study investigated the association between employment, type of job, household income, and educational level and the risk of postpartum depression. Subjects were 771 Japanese women. Postpartum depression was defined as present when subjects had an Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale score of 9 or higher between 3 and 4months postpartum. Adjustment was made for age, gestation, parity, cigarette smoking, family structure, medical problems during pregnancy, baby's sex, and baby's birth weight. The prevalence of postpartum depression was 13.8%. Compared with unemployment, employment was significantly associated with a reduced risk of postpartum depression: the adjusted OR was 0.55 (95% CI: 0.32–0.91). When employment was classified into 2 categories, full-time, but not part-time, employment was independently inversely associated with postpartum depression: the adjusted OR was 0.52 (95% CI: 0.26–0.96). Regarding the type of job held, women with a professional or technical job had a significantly reduced risk of postpartum depression: the adjusted OR was 0.29 (95% CI: 0.09–0.72). Clerical or related occupation and other occupations including sales, service, production, and construction were not associated with postpartum depression. There were no relationships between household income or maternal and paternal educational levels and postpartum depression. Personal and family psychiatric history, sociocultural factors, and personal and family relations were not controlled for. Employment, especially full-time employment and holding a professional or technical job, may reduce the risk of postpartum depression.