Risk of Mental Health Disorders Following an Initial Diagnosis of Postpartum Depression, Active Component, U.S. Armed Forces, 1998-2010.

Postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the most common psychiatric conditions of the postpartum period. Several studies have found an association between PPD and other mental health disorders. The Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS) was used to identify a cohort of primiparous service women with PPD between 1998 and 2010 and match them by month of delivery to a cohort of women without PPD. During the surveillance period, there were 5,203 incident cases of PPD with a crude rate of 44.9 per 1,000 person-years. Individuals in the PPD cohort, when compared to their matched controls, were at higher risk for subsequent depressive disorders (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 7.3 [95% CI: 5.2-10.3]), anxiety disorders (adjusted HR: 3.2 [95% CI: 2.5-4.0]), and bipolar disorders (adjusted HR: 4.7 [95% CI: 1.9-11.9]). There were higher rates of these mental health diagnoses among individuals who eventually left service. Early screening, support, and treatment are essential during this vulnerable postpartum time frame to preserve the female fighting force.