The study is a spinoff of the “Giving Parents Support (GPS) after NICU discharge” clinical trial and involves 125 GPS trial participants. Researchers assessed depressive symptoms among patients using a 10-item, validated screening tool — the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. The mean age of the participants ranged from 26.5 to 30.6 years old.
The study shows that the median length of time the participants’ newborns remained in the NICU was 18 days. When the newborns were discharged, 40 percent of parents had elevated CES-D scores. Six months post-discharge, 14 percent of the parents had elevated scores.
“It’s reassuring that, for many parents, these depressive symptoms ease over time. However for a select group of parents, depression symptoms persisted six months after discharge. Our findings help to ensure that we target mental health screening and services to these more vulnerable parents,” Karen Fratantoni, MD, lead study author and a pediatrician at Washington, D.C.-based Children’s National Health System, said in a May 5 statement.
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