{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,10]],"date-time":"2026-06-10T05:01:04Z","timestamp":1781067664957,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,11]],"date-time":"2024-01-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1704931200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Birth"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Perinatal mental health disorders (PMHDs) are associated with a myriad of negative outcomes for women, infants, and the rest of the family unit. Understanding the prevalence of these conditions is important to guide prevention and treatment pathways. Indeed, the burden of PMHDs has been studied in many countries, but for Malta, an island with an annual birth rate of 4500 births, this burden is still to be determined. The main objective of this study was to address this gap, determine the prevalence of PMHDs among postpartum women in Malta, and study associated psychosocial determinants for this population.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A cross\u2010sectional epidemiological study was conducted between March and April 2022 to determine the point prevalence of postpartum PMHDs in Malta. A representative, random sample of 243 postnatal mothers were recruited and screened for mental health issues using a two stage approach incorporating symptom scales and a diagnostic interview.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The point prevalence of postnatal PMHDs in Malta, according to a diagnostic interview, was found to be 21.4%. Anxiety disorders were the most prevalent conditions (16.8%), followed by obsessive\u2010compulsive disorder (6.1%) and borderline personality disorder (5.6%), respectively. A higher rate of 32.1% was identified with self\u2010report measures.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>PMHDs are highly prevalent, affecting approximately 20% of women in Malta across the first postnatal year. The value of this finding accentuates the need for service availability and the implementation of perinatal mental health screening programs.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1111\/birt.12804","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,12]],"date-time":"2024-01-12T05:35:06Z","timestamp":1705037706000},"page":"497-507","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The prevalence of perinatal mental health disorders and psychosocial characteristics of women in <scp>M<\/scp>alta: <scp>A<\/scp> cross\u2010sectional study"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"51","author":[{"given":"Rachel","family":"Buhagiar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology University of Malta  Msida Malta"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kristina","family":"Bettenzana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology University of Malta  Msida Malta"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kerry\u2010Ann","family":"Grant","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Education and Training Institute  Sydney New South Wales Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_11_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/wps.20769"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bpobgyn.2013.09.002"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_4_1","unstructured":"The World Bank.Country classifications by income: FY 2021\u20132022.https:\/\/datatopics.worldbank.org\/world\u2010development\u2010indicators\/the\u2010world\u2010by\u2010income\u2010and\u2010region.html"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_5_1","unstructured":"National Statistics Office (NSO).Regional statistics\u2010Malta 2021 edition.https:\/\/nso.gov.mt\/en\/nso\/Media\/Salient\u2010Points\u2010of\u2010Publications\/Documents\/2021\/Regional%202021\/Regional%20Statistics%202021_full%20publication.pdf. 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