Greater attention has been paid recently to prenatal mental
disorders and their association with exposure to domestic violence (DV) as both
have serious reproductive consequences.
The aim of this study was to screen for anxiety and/or
depression among pregnant women, as well as identify the frequency and
association of exposure to DV.
This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2013 and
included a systematic random sample of 376 pregnant women attending the
antenatal care outpatient clinic at the largest university hospital in Egypt.
Participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire including three
components: sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, the Hospital
Anxiety and Depression Scale questionnaire (HADS), and the Hurt, Insulted,
Threaten, Scream (HITS) inventory for screening for DV.
Women who expressed simultaneous anxiety and depressive
manifestations accounted for 63%, whereas 11.4% and 10.4% of them expressed
only anxiety and only depression, respectively. Exposure to DV was detected in
30.6% of all participants, of whom 25.2% were physically hit by their husbands
often to most of the time. Simultaneous anxiety and depression was independently
associated with lifetime exposure to DV (odds ratio=3.27, 95% confidence
interval: 1.28-8.34, P=0.013), whereas having a university-graduated husband
was a protective factor from DV (odds ratio=0.22, 95% confidence interval:
0.64-0.75, P=0.01).
Symptoms of anxiety and depression were highly reported
among this sample of pregnant Egyptian women and were significantly associated
with exposure to intimate partner violence. Screening of pregnant women for
mental disorders associated with exposure to DV with provision of supportive
mental health services, as well as interventions to reduce exposure to DV,
should be considered for integration into antenatal care services.
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By:
- 1Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
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