Trajectories of paternal depression symptoms from 1 to 6 months postpartum and associated factors: An Adjunct Study of the Japan Environment and Children's Study

This prospective birth-cohort study aimed to determine the factors associated with new-onset paternal depression symptoms from 1 to 6 months postpartum in Japan. Paternal depression symptoms were evaluated using the Japanese version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS-J) at 1 to 6 months postpartum. The definition of paternal depression symptoms was EPDS-J ≥8 in this study. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to analyze the relative variables. We analyzed 902 fathers. The frequency of new-onset paternal depression symptoms was 6.5%. For paternal new-onset depression symptoms, the significantly associated factors were maternal persistent depression symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 3.705; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.653-8.308), paternal new-onset lack of affection (AOR, 2.797; 95% CI, 1.050-7.452), and paternal new-onset anger and rejection (AOR, 2.781; 95% CI, 1.148-6.740). Persistent maternal depression symptoms from 1 to 6 months postpartum were associated with new-onset paternal depression symptoms from 1 to 6 months postpartum.