A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies validating Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in fathers

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a reliable measure for detecting paternal postpartum depression. The study's purpose is to determine the appropriate cut-off scores of EPDS for fathers. Our research was conducted using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus. The time frame of the search was from the issuance of EPDS in 1987 until January 2021. The analysis comprised of studies that compared EPDS scores for depression from validated diagnostic interviews. For EPDS cut-off values of 7–13, a bivariate random-effects meta-analysis was used to estimate pooled sensitivity and specificity, as well as the diagnostic odds ratio. Seven studies with a total of 2393 participants were identified. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were satisfactory at cut-off values of 7–10, with significant diagnostic odds ratio. The EPDS accuracy was unaffected by the prevalence of depression, the fathers' mean age, or the translated language. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale has acceptable properties for detecting paternal postpartum depression, with cut-off scores ranging from 7 to 10.