The screening accuracy of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) to detect perinatal depression with and without the self-harm item in pregnant and postpartum women.

Background: This study aims to examine whether the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), excluding the self-harm item (EPDS-9), performs as effectively as the full EPDS in identifying depression among perinatal women.

Methods: A total of 3571 pregnant women and 3850 postpartum women participated in this observational study. Participants who scored ≥ 9 on the EPDS underwent further diagnostic evaluations by a clinical psychologist and/or psychiatrist.

Screening for antenatal maternal depression: comparative performance of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire-9.

Background: Maternal antenatal depression affects 21-28% of expectants globally and negatively impacts both maternal and child health in the short and long term.

Objective: To compare the psychometric properties and clinical utility of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) in pregnant individuals.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 953 third-trimester pregnant Italian individuals completed both the EPDS and the PHQ-9.

Exploring transgenerational inheritance in epigenotypes of DAT heterozygous rats: Circadian anomalies and attentional vulnerability.

Dopamine (DA) is mainly involved in locomotor activity, reward processes and maternal behaviors. Rats with KO gene for dopamine transporter (DAT), coding for a truncated DAT protein, are in hyperdopaminergic conditions and thus develop stereotyped behaviors and hyperactivity. Our aim was to test the prior transgenerational modulation of wild and truncated alleles as expressed in heterozygous DAT rats: specifically, we addressed the possible sequelae due to genotype and gender of the ancestors, with regard to behavioral differences in F, F, F rats.

Connecting psychosocial and personality characteristics with mental health outcomes. An Italian co-twin control study.

Exposure to stressful life events is common, and it is linked to increased psychological issues. As most likely people respond to stressors depending on environmental and genetic factors, we assessed in a twin study the association of some personal characteristics such as resilience and self-perception with anxiety, depression and stress in the late Covid pandemic period, to verify the underlying genetic and shared familial components. With this design, the strength of the associations was compared between individual-level and intrapair-level analyses.

Prevalence of anxiety and depression risk during the prepartum period in the different groups of women and responses from the Italian National Health Service.

Background: Specific screening for anxiety and depression in pregnant women is important to identify those at risk and to provide timely intervention. The aims of the study were: 1) to compare the risk of anxiety and depression in four groups of pregnant women belonging to four types of healthcare centers distinguished by the level of risk: at low-risk; at high-risk for an obstetric reason; at high-risk for fetal anomalies; at high-risk for psychiatric conditions and 2) to identify the response that the National Health Service offers to women positively screened for anxiety and depression.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 2801 pregnant women, cared for by National Health Service, divided into four groups: 1) low-risk pregnancy (N.

Comparing the factor structures and reliabilities of the EPDS and the PHQ-9 for screening antepartum and postpartum depression: a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis.

To evaluate and compare the factor structure and reliability of EPDS and PHQ in antepartum and postpartum samples. Parallel analysis and exploratory factor analysis were conducted to determine the structure of both scales in the entire sample as well as in the antepartum and postpartum groups. McDonald's omega statistics examined the utility of treating items as a single scale versus multiple factors.

Epidemiology of perinatal depression in Italy: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: This review aims to synthesise the studies that have estimated the prevalence of perinatal depression in Italy, summarising the results of the existing literature based on their quality.

Materials And Methods: Systematic searches were conducted in four major databases, and a random effect meta-analysis was performed to achieve the pooled variance of perinatal depression.

Results: The pooled prepartum risk of depression prevalence was 20.

Stability and change in genetic and environmental influences on depressive symptoms in response to COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The rapid spread of the new Coronavirus and the consequent restrictions to contain transmission generated an unprecedented psychological impact on the general population. The Italian Twin Registry performed a longitudinal study to investigate to what extent genetic and environmental influences contributed to changes in depressive symptoms.

Methods: Data from adult twins were collected.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women's Perinatal Mental Health: Preliminary Data on the Risk of Perinatal Depression/Anxiety from a National Survey in Italy.

Increasing evidence suggests that during the COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety and depression during the perinatal period increased. The aim of the study is to estimate the prevalence of risk for both maternal depression and anxiety among women attending 18 healthcare centres in Italy during the SARS-COV-2 pandemic and to investigate the psychosocial risks and protective factors associated. It was divided into a retrospective phase (2019, 2020, and the first nine months of 2021) and a prospective phase (which began in November 2021 and it is still ongoing), which screened 12,479 and 2349 women, respectively, for a total of 14,828 women in the perinatal period.

A Brief Depression Screening Tool for Perinatal Clinical Practice: The Performance of the PHQ-2 Compared with the PHQ-9.

Introduction: There is ongoing interest in using brief screening instruments to identify perinatal depression in clinical practice. One ultra-brief screening instrument for depression is the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), but thus far its accuracy in perinatal clinical practice has been barely researched. In the present study, we aimed to assess the screening accuracy of the PHQ-2 against the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) in a large sample of perinatal women.

Genetic and environmental contributions to psychopathological symptoms stability and change across the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several longitudinal studies investigated changes in mental health related to the pandemic event. However, little research has focused on the mediating role of environmental and genetic factors. The current prospective study aimed to evaluate the genetic and environmental contributions to the stability of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress during the COVID-19 crisis.

Depressive symptoms among adults in 2018-2019 and during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.

Background: Restrictions due to Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has produced a large number of effects on mental health, which are expected to endure over time. In this study, we assessed depressive symptom levels before the COVID-19 pandemic, from January 2018 to December 2019, and during the pandemic in Italy in 2020.

Methods: We used the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), which is a screening instrument devised to detect probable depression and which has been annually administered in the framework of the Italian Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System since 2008.

Behavioral Phenotype in Heterozygous DAT Rats: Transgenerational Transmission of Maternal Impact and the Role of Genetic Asset.

Dopamine transporter (DAT) is involved in dopamine (DA) reuptake in presynaptic terminals. Deletion of DAT results in a hyperdopaminergic KO-rat phenotype. To conduct our studies in heterozygous DAT rats, several pedigree lines were created, with known derivation of the allele (i.

A Qualitative Study Regarding COVID-19 Inpatient Family Caregivers' Need for Supportive Care.

Background: Family caregivers of COVID-19 inpatients are exposed to multiple sources of distress. These include not only losing friends, colleagues and members of the family, but also the fear of possible losses in sociality, finances and, impoverished communication with sick family members and health care providers.

Objective: This study describes the psychological experience of COVID-19 inpatient family caregivers to highlight the main sources of distress, issues, concerns and unmet needs.

Genetic and Environmental Architecture of Five Factor Model and Super-Factors: An Italian Twin Study.

No previous research explored the genetic and environmental structure of Big Five dimensions of personality and higher-order factors in a single twin study, except, in part, for just one study. We used the twin design to estimate the effects of genes and environment on both Five Factor model and related second- and third-order factors (i.e.

The limited screening accuracy of the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 in detecting depression among perinatal women in Italy.

Background: The PHQ-2 was recently recommended by the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement as a form of initial perinatal screening, followed by the EPDS only for women with positive PHQ-2 score. However, the accuracy of the PHQ-2 in perinatal clinical practice has been barely researched, to date. In the present study, we aim to assess the accuracy of the PHQ-2 against the EPDS in a large sample of perinatal women.

The COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: Depressive symptoms immediately before and after the first lockdown.

Background: Italy was one of the first countries to be heavily hit by the spread of the new Coronavirus. Longitudinal studies are needed to investigate the real effect of COVID-19 on adult mental health. The Italian Twin Registry carried out a study to investigate, over time, the course of depressive symptoms in the general population.

Prevalence of Maternal Postnatal Anxiety and Its Association With Demographic and Socioeconomic Factors: A Multicentre Study in Italy.

Anxiety is a common perinatal disorder that can cause severe adverse consequences. This study (a) assesses the prevalence of maternal postnatal anxious symptomatology, and (b) analyses its association with demographic and socioeconomic variables as well as obstetric and other psychosocial variables. The assessment included 307 mothers aged ≥18 years with a biological baby aged ≤ 52 weeks and from seven Italian healthcare centres, evaluated using a Psychosocial and Clinical Assessment Form (also covering demographic and socioeconomic factors), and the state scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.

Prevalence of comorbid anxiety and depressive symptomatology in the third trimester of pregnancy: Analysing its association with sociodemographic, obstetric, and mental health features.

Background: Little is known about the prevalence of comorbid anxiety and depression (CAD) during pregnancy and its risk factors. The aims of this study are to determine the prevalence of CAD in the third trimester of pregnancy and analyse its association with socio-demographic, obstetric, and mental health features.

Methods: In a sample of 934 Italian pregnant women, CAD was defined as having (1) a score of ≥ 10 on the EPDS - depression subscale and/or on the PHQ-9, and (2) a score of ≥ 40 on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory State and/or a score of ≥ 6 on the EPDS - anxiety subscale.

[The covid-19 pandemic in Italy: the impact on social life and mental health].

Introduction: Italy, one of the first countries to be heavily hit by the spread of the new Coronavirus, has activated precautionary measures aimed at limiting its spread. This emergency situation may be cause of psychological distress in the general population. Therefore, the Italian Twins Registry has decided to carry out an epidemiological study to investigate the social and mental health impact of the covid-19 pandemic on Italian adults.

[Perspectives of access to mental health care for common mental disorders].

Anxiety and depressive disorders, together with substance and alcohol abuse disorders, were the disorders that contributed for the most part to the global burden of all mental disorders. However, the majority of people affected by these disorders do not receive any treatment. This is surprising, given the evidence on the efficacy of psychotherapies and antidepressants, and lead us to reflect on the possible factors that cause lack of access to mental health care.

Attitude of potential biobank donors screened for depression towards disclosure of individual health results.

Background: Research based on biological material with linked health and clinical data may produce new strategies for disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment. A survey was conducted among individuals previously screened for major depressive disorder (MDD) to explore participants' attitude towards research biobanking.

Methods: The survey used self-report questionnaires about donation for research biobanks, self-perceived health and life satisfaction.