Pregnant women not treated for depression

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ATLANTA, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Pregnant women have a higher rate of undiagnosed depression than non-pregnant women, U.S. researchers say.

Jean Ko and colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta found more than 1-in-10 women ages 18-44 had a major depressive event during the previous year -- representing about 1.2 million U.S. women. However, more than half of those women did not receive a diagnosis of depression and nearly half did not receive any mental health treatment, Ko said.

The study, published in the Journal of Women's Health, found major depression affected as many as 16 percent of reproductive-aged women, and that disparities in receiving a diagnosis of depression and treatment were associated with younger age, belonging to a racial/ethnic minority and insurance status.

"As healthcare providers, we simply must do a better job at diagnosing depression and referring women for mental health treatment," Dr. Susan G. Kornstein, editor in chief of Journal of Women's Health and executive director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, said in a statement. "Reproductive healthcare visits provide an opportune time to address this."