The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale: Validation in a Norwegian community sample

This study was undertaken to validate a Norwegian translation of the Edinbu rgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The EPDS was validated against the D SM-IV criteria for major depression, derived from the PRIME-MD, in an inter view study of 56 women selected from a community-based questionnaire study of 310 women 6 weeks postpartum. A score of greater than or equal to 10 on the EPDS scale identified all women with major depression, giving a sensiti vity of 100% (95% confidence interval; 72%-100%) and a specificity of 87% ( 95% confidence interval; 77%-95%). The EPDS scores were strongly correlated with the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale in the subsample of wom en interviewed (n = 56) and with the Hopkins Symptom Check List (SCL-25) sc ores in the questionnaire study (n = 310). Our results with regard to the s ensitivity and specificity estimates are comparable with prior validation s tudies; however, the confidence intervals around the estimates are wide. Ne vertheless, this study confirms that the EPDS is a valid clinical screening instrument for detecting postpartum depression.