Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Preventing Postpartum Depressive Symptoms Among Pregnant Individuals With Depression: Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial in China
Bibliographic record
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Women are particularly vulnerable to depression during pregnancy, which is one of the strongest risk factors for developing postpartum depression (PPD). Addressing antenatal depressive symptoms in these women is crucial for preventing PPD. However, little is known about the effectiveness of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) in preventing PPD in this high-risk group. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the short- and long-term effects of ICBT in preventing PPD among women with antenatal depressive symptoms. METHODS: Participants were screened for antenatal depressive symptoms using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and randomly allocated (1:1) to either the ICBT group (receiving weekly online modules starting antenatally and continuing into early postpartum) or the control group (observed without treatment). Follow-up assessments were conducted up to 12 months postpartum, and data were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. The primary outcome was the prevalence of depressive symptoms at 6 weeks postpartum. A subgroup analysis based on the severity of antenatal depressive symptoms was also performed. The secondary outcomes included the long-term effects of ICBT on maternal depression, as well as its impact on anxiety, sleep quality, social support, parenting stress, co-parenting relationships, and infant development. RESULTS: Between August 2020 and September 2021, 300 pregnant individuals were recruited from 5 centers across China. No significant differences were observed in depressive symptoms at 6 weeks postpartum (P=.18) or at any longer-term follow-up time points (P=.18). However, a post hoc subgroup analysis showed that participants with antenatal EPDS scores of 10-12 in the ICBT group had a lower risk of developing depression during the first year postpartum (odds ratio 0.534, 95% CI 0.313-0.912; P=.02), but this was not observed for participants with more severe depression. Additionally, this subgroup demonstrated higher levels of co-parenting relationships (P=.02). CONCLUSIONS: Among individuals with antenatal depression, ICBT did not prevent the development of PPD. However, ICBT may be a preferable option for those with mild to moderate antenatal depressive symptoms. Future research is needed to explore modifications to ICBT to address more severe depressive symptoms. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2000033433; https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=54482. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.1186/s13063-022-06728-5.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.004 | 0.002 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.003 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".