Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in the Perinatal Period: Referrals to the Comprehensive Child Development Service in a Hong Kong Regional Hospital.

Objectives: To review the demographic profiles of new psychiatric referrals to the Comprehensive Child Development Service of a regional hospital in Hong Kong and study their psychiatric diagnostic profiles. Participants and Methods: Consecutive patients referred to the Comprehensive Child Development Service from October 2006 to July 2008 were enrolled. Psychiatric diagnosis was made by a specialist psychiatrist, according to the International Classification of Diseases - 10th Revision. Antenatal and postnatal patients were studied separately. With regard to the 2 major diagnostic groups (depressive and anxiety disorders), risk factors - including marital status, unplanned pregnancy, maternal psychiatric history, personal psychiatric history, and complications in previous pregnancies - were analysed and compared. Results: A total of 181 cases referred to psychiatry were included; 24 (13%) were antenatal, while 157 (87%) were postnatal. There were 2 main diagnostic groups, namely patients with depressive spectrum disorder and anxiety spectrum disorder. Among the 24 antenatal patients, 17 (71%) had anxiety, and 4 (17%) had depressive spectrum disorder. Among the 157 postnatal patients, 67 (43%) had depressive spectrum symptoms and 76 (48%) had anxiety spectrum symptoms. Conclusions: The impression that depressive disorder was the only significant mental disorder of pregnancy in the perinatal period needs further evaluation. A high percentage of patients suffered anxiety spectrum disorders during the perinatal period. Screening, early detection, and effective intervention for anxiety disorders should also be an important component of the Comprehensive Child Development Service programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]