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To calculate the incidence of maternal and paternal depression after the birth of a child, researchers analyzed data from more than 350 U.K. general practices with 86,957 parents who had babies from 1993 to 2007. Episodes of depression (diagnosis codes for unipolar depression, antidepressants prescribed at therapeutic doses for the treatment of depression, or both) were recorded for parents until their child reached the age of 12 years. Depression episodes were considered separate if at least 12 months had passed since the end of the prior episode. Patients with bipolar disorder, depression with psychosis, anxiety, or panic disorder were excluded.
Rates of follow-up varied from 83% at 1 year to 5% at 12 years. Depression rates for mothers we…