Patients with PPD & Anxiety in Urban Areas Are Less Likely to Receive Treatment 

To treat postpartum depression (PPD) and anxiety, identifying patients who need help can be just as important as the treatment itself. At the 2023 ACOG Annual Clinical and Scientific Meeting, a new study was presented exploring postpartum treatment disparities between patients living in urban and rural areas.

The retrospective cohort analysis examined individuals diagnosed with PPD or anxiety within 12 months of giving birth between 2011 to 2020.

1,602,058 patients were identified using the MarketScan Commercial Research Database and postpartum depression and anxiety codes of the International Classification of Diseases. The primary outcome examined pharmacologic and psychotherapy treatment, and the secondary outcome looked at the time between delivery and the first prescription fill.

Below is a recap of the key findings:

• 88 percent of patients lived in urban areas
• Those in urban areas were less likely to receive treatment
• 50 percent of individuals filled a prescription by 107 days from delivery in urban areas
• 50 percent of individuals filled a prescription by 100 days from delivery in rural settings

This research highlights the relationship between environment and postpartum care, but future studies are needed to uncover the reason these disparities exist.