Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #111281

Karalee Poschman, MPH, Megan Smith, MPH, Mary Cavaleri, PhD, MSW, LCSW, Heather Howell, MSW, and Kimberly Yonkers, MD. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yale University, 142 Temple St, Suite 301, New Haven, CT 06510, 203-764-6621, karalee.poschman@yale.edu

Ten percent of women will be diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in their lifetime. Given that young women are at risk for PTSD and the illness is often enduring, it is likely that many women will be in episode for PTSD during pregnancy. This presentation presents preliminary findings on prevalence, treatment rates, and co-morbidity of PTSD experienced by low-income pregnant women screened in community obstetrical clinics. Pregnant women (N=937) were screened at any time point during pregnancy for PTSD, panic, depression, and co-occurring illicit substance use. Instruments used included the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) Brief Patient Health Questionnaire and the PTSD module from the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) supplemented with an 11 question event list from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Of the 937 pregnant women, 29.5% (n=276) experienced a traumatic event and 3.5% (n=33) screened positive for PTSD. Rape was the most frequently experienced traumatic event (16.2%), followed by domestic violence (13.7%), witnessing someone being injured or killed (12.6%) and sexual molestation (11.8%). Of the women with PTSD, 66.7% screened positive for depression, 36.4% screened positive for panic, 27.3% were currently using drugs or alcohol and 24.1% smoked during pregnancy. While 51.5% indicated a history of mental health treatment, only 24.2% were currently in treatment. Determinants of trauma and PTSD in low-income pregnant women will be discussed. Given the morbidity associated with PTSD and the association with health behaviors that effect mother and fetus, further study is needed on effective treatments during pregnancy.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain knowledge on the prevalence of trauma and PTSD and co-morbid disorders in pregnant women.
• Determine important medical, social and psychosocial predictors of trauma and PTSD in low-income pregnant women.
• Recognize the importance of screening for trauma and PTSD in pregnant women.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.