Health & Medicine, UK (Commonwealth Union) – Taking on a new role as a parent particularly when its your 1st child may seem overwhelming at the start but most new parents who had initial reservations of being a parent have revealed that they do not look back at all on their decision.
A recent study conducted by the University College London (UCL) has found that new fathers have a 30 times higher chance to consume antidepressants in the 1st year following a child, when they have a recent history with its treatment.
A study published in JAMA Network Open utilized a vast dataset of primary care electronic health records from the IQVIA Medical Research Database. The research analyzed information spanning from January 2007 to December 2016, encompassing over 500,000 records.
Within this dataset, the study identified two distinct groups: 90,736 men who had become fathers within the previous year and 453,632 men who did not have any children. The researchers proceeded to investigate the number of men in each group who had been prescribed antidepressant medication.
No major difference was found in the study for antidepressant treatment for the 2 groups.
Nevertheless, the study findings indicated a significant association between fathers who had a prior history of antidepressant treatment and their increased likelihood of requiring treatment again after becoming parents. In fact, the research revealed that these fathers were over 30 times more prone to seeking treatment compared to fathers without such a history. In light of these findings, the researchers recommend that men in this category consider scheduling a mental health check-up with their general practitioner (GP) within the first year after having a child.
Holly Smith, a PhD candidate from the UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health and the lead author of the study, emphasized the complexity of the relationship between depression and fatherhood. She highlighted that the study’s results underscored the significance of prior antidepressant treatment as a crucial factor associated with the use of antidepressants during the year following the birth of a child.
“This may be because the men are continuing treatment they were on before having a child, or these men may be more susceptible to having feelings of depression again and the challenges of having a new child may exacerbate this.
“After the birth of a child, attention is normally focused on the health of the mother and baby. However, we need to ensure that new dads get the care they need too by improving research on new fathers and how to engage with them about their mental health.”
Prior findings indicate that men may face an elevated risk of experiencing depression shortly after their child’s birth. In fact, it is estimated that up to 1 in 10 men may experience depression within the year following the birth.
While antidepressants are commonly prescribed as a treatment for depression, there is a lack of data regarding the frequency of antidepressant prescriptions for fathers during the year after having a child, as well as how this compares to men who haven’t recently become fathers.
In addition to prior antidepressant use, the study’s findings highlighted social deprivation as another significant factor influencing whether new fathers were prescribed antidepressant medication.
The study revealed that fathers residing in areas with the highest levels of deprivation faced an 18% increased risk of being prescribed antidepressant medication compared to fathers living in the least deprived areas.
It’s worth noting that the study received funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
Certain study limitations according to the identification of fathers in the study was based on the presence of women of a similar age within the same household who were recorded as having given birth during the study period. Consequently, it is possible that the researchers may have underestimated the actual number of fathers within the dataset.
