The pregnancy “super-utilizer”: how does a high-risk depression screen affect medical utilization?

AbstractObjective: Our objective was to determine whether a score of  >11 on the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) at the initial prenatal visit was associated with an increased use of acute medical visits when compared to pregnant women with an initial EPDS score of ≤11.Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study comparing the utilization of acute medical care during pregnancy and the first eight weeks after delivery amongst 200 women with an EPDS score >11 at their initial prenatal visit compared with 200 women with an EPDS score ≤11. “Super-utilization” was defined as ≥4 acute or unscheduled medical visits during pregnancy and the first eight weeks after delivery (90th percentile). Logistic regression was used to control for confounders.Results: Women with an initial EPDS score >11 were significantly more likely to engage in super-utilization of acute medical care compared with those women scoring ≤11 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.53–3.90).Conclusions: P...