validation study carried out between July and December 2010.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Szeged, Hungary.
219 women attending a routine check-up at 12 weeks antepartum.
participants completed the newly translated Hungarian version of the EPDS and underwent a clinical assessment with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV disorders (SCID-I).
seven (3.2 % ) of the mothers were diagnosed with major antepartum depression and 15 persons (6.85 % ) with minor depression on the basis of the SCID. Internal consistency of the EPDS was satisfactory (Cronbach ¦Á coefficients ¡Ý0.728). The best cut-off on the Hungarian version of the EPDS for major depression was 8/9, with a sensitivity of 71.4 % , and a specificity of 91.5 % . The area under the ROC curve was found significant for combined depression as well and at a cut-off of 6/7 indicated a sensitivity of 81.8 % and a specificity of 83.2 % .
the EPDS showed acceptable validity despite a considerable scatter in the total scores in our sample.
the EPDS is a reliable instrument for the screening of depressive disorders, especially major depressive disorder in early pregnancy among Hungarian women.