Socioeconomic status and maternal postpartum depression: a PRISMA-compliant systematic review

Postpartum depression (PPD) affects nearly 20% of postpartum women and has severe short- and long-term detrimental effects on their mental health. While there is ample evidence linking depression-related outcomes and individuals’ socioeconomic status (SES), the examination of differences in PPD as a function of SES has received relatively little empirical attention, resulting in inconsistent empirical evidence. There are also no well-established systematic reviews on the linkage between SES and PPD. Thus, we conducted A PRISMA-compliant systematic review to comprehensively analyze the association of SES (as measured by long-established objective [e.g., income or education] and subjective measures) with PPD (as measured by widely validated scales). We performed a bibliographic search on CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE complete, and EBSCO Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Among the 201 articles retrieved, 16 met the eligibility criteria. Our results reveal that mothers with lower income and education levels (objective indicators of SES) were more likely to experience PPD. Notably, we also found that subjective SES, compared to objective SES, was more strongly associated with PPD. Overall, these findings indicate that low-SES mothers may be at increased risk of PPD compared to high-SES mothers, reflecting the need for more efficient early detection programs for PPD among low-SES mothers.