A. Skodol

To test a priori hypotheses that miscarrying women are at increased risk for a first or recurrent episode of major depressive disorder in the 6 months following loss and that this increased risk is greater for childless women, women with... more

To test a priori hypotheses that miscarrying women are at increased risk for a first or recurrent episode of major depressive disorder in the 6 months following loss and that this increased risk is greater for childless women, women with prior reproductive loss, and women aged 35 years or older; and to evaluate whether risk varies by time of gestation or by attitude toward the pregnancy. Cohort study. The miscarriage cohort consisted of women attending a medical center for a spontaneous abortion (n=229); the comparison group was a population-based cohort of women drawn from the community (n=230). Miscarriage was defined as the involuntary termination of a nonviable intrauterine pregnancy before 28 completed weeks of gestation. Half of all participants were between 25 and 34 years of age; 40% were white and 35% Hispanic; 55% had more than a high school education. Participants constituted 60% of miscarrying women and 72% of community women who completed the first phase of this cohort ...

Publication Date: Jan 5, 1997

Publication Name: JAMA

Research Interests:
Pregnancy, Humans, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Gynecology and Obstetrics, and 10 moreDepressive Disorder, Risk factors, Adult, Time Factors, Risk Factors, Parity, Gestational Age, Logistic Models, JAMA, and Cohort Studies

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We tested whether and under what conditions miscarriage increases depressive symptoms in the early weeks following loss. We interviewed 232 women within 4 weeks of miscarriage and 283 pregnant women and 318 community women who had not... more

We tested whether and under what conditions miscarriage increases depressive symptoms in the early weeks following loss. We interviewed 232 women within 4 weeks of miscarriage and 283 pregnant women and 318 community women who had not recently been pregnant. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale. Among women who had miscarried, the proportion who were highly symptomatic on the CES-D was 3.4 times that of pregnant women and 4.3 times that of community women. Among childless women, the proportion of women who had miscarried who were highly symptomatic was 5.7 times that of pregnant women and 11.0 times that of community women. Women who had miscarried were equally depressed regardless of length of gestation; among pregnant women, depressive symptoms declined with length of gestation. Among women who had miscarried, symptom levels did not vary with attitude toward the pregnancy; among pregnant women, depressive symptoms were elevated in those with unwanted pregnancies. Prior reproductive loss and advanced maternal age (35+ years) were not associated with symptom levels in any cohort. Depressive symptoms are markedly increased in the early weeks following miscarriage. This effect is substantially modified by number of living children, length of gestation at loss, and attitude toward pregnancy.

Publication Date: 1992

Publication Name: American Journal of Public Health

Research Interests:
Health insurance, Adolescent, Pregnancy, Humans, Public, and 15 moreNew York City, Female, Depressive Disorder, Risk factors, Ethnic Groups, Recurrence, Adult, Maternal Age, Time Factors, Educational Status, Risk Factors, Depressive Symptoms, Parity, Case Control Studies, and Marital Status

The positive (perceptual-cognitive) and negative (social-interpersonal) dimensions of schizotypal personality traits were examined in biological relatives of individuals with Axis I disorder. The subjects were young adult offspring from... more

The positive (perceptual-cognitive) and negative (social-interpersonal) dimensions of schizotypal personality traits were examined in biological relatives of individuals with Axis I disorder. The subjects were young adult offspring from three contrasting parental groups, including schizophrenic disorder, affective disorder, and normal controls. Cognitive correlates, including digit span (presumed to assess working memory) and P3 amplitudes, were also examined. Preliminary results showed that positive and negative dimensions were distinguished by different prevalence patterns in the offspring subjects, and by a different pattern of correlations with cognitive measures. Negative dimensions were more frequent in offspring from the schizophrenic parental group than in the offspring from affective disorder and normal control parental groups. Digits forward and backward, and P3 amplitude decrements, characterized a subset of offspring with negative features from the schizophrenic parental group. Positive dimensions did not differ between the psychiatric parental groups, and did not covary with digit span or P3 amplitude assessments. These results support the view that positive and negative dimensions may reflect separable pathophysiologic processes.