Although perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs), which include depression and anxiety disorders during pregnancy and postpartum, are common among mothers in Colorado and the United States, these medical conditions often go undiagnosed and untreated.1,2 While PMADs have received increasing attention from policymakers and professional societies, the societal costs have not been well documented. This issue brief describes the findings from a new mathematical model that quantifies the societal costs of untreated PMADs from conception to age 5. The model uses the most recent data and credible estimates of maternal, child, and societal outcomes associated with untreated PMADs from peer-reviewed literature. We estimate that the total societal cost of untreated PMADs in Colorado is $199 million for all births in 2017 when following the mother-child pair from pregnancy through five years postpartum.
Published by: Mathematica Policy Research
Published date: April 2019
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Health Care, Infants/Toddlers, Mental Health, Social Emotional Health