by Elana Gotkine

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) increased among privately insured people from 2008 to 2020, according to a study published online March 20 in Health Affairs.

Kara Zivin, Ph.D., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues conducted cross-sectional analyses of women with live-birth deliveries during 2008 to 2020 to examine trends in diagnoses of PMADs.

The researchers found that among privately insured people, PMAD diagnoses increased by 93.3 percent from 2008 to 2020 nationwide, with faster growth in 2015 to 2020 than in 2008 to 2014. Increases were experienced in most states and demographic subgroups.

From 2008 to 2020, there was also an increase seen in PMAD-associated suicidality and psychotherapy rates. In 2015 to 2020, psychotherapy rates continued to increase relative to 2008 to 2014, while suicidality rates decreased.

"Observed trends in PMAD diagnoses among privately insured people during 2008–20 and in associated suicidality and psychotherapy use suggest an increasingly rapid worsening of U.S. maternal mental health morbidity," the authors write.

"To better inform policy that addresses this crisis, and as public health and policy shift postpandemic, future studies could assess post-2020 trends among commercially insured, publicly insured, and uninsured people."

More information: Kara Zivin et al, Perinatal Mood And Anxiety Disorders Rose Among Privately Insured People, 2008–20, Health Affairs (2024). DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2023.01437

Journal information: Health Affairs 

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