| ■ Model Predicts Postnatal Depression Risk | 2009.09.26 |
| A model to predict postnatal depression is 80 percent accurate in the months after a woman gives birth, Spanish researchers say. The researchers studied 1,397 women who gave birth and used a type of modeling they call artificial neuronal networks, United Press International reported. The model includes a number of risk factors, including a mother's amount of social support, emotional changes during birth, neuroticism, mutations in the serotonin transport gene, and family history of psychiatric problems. During the study, the researchers found that being older and working during pregnancy decreased a woman's risk of postnatal depression, UPI reported. The study was published in the journal Methods of Information in Medicine. |