Glover et al reported a Blues questionnaire, which was adapted from the questionnaire of Kennerley and Gath. It can be helpful for screening a woman for postnatal depression. The authors are from Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital in London.
Feelings::
(1) being tearful
(2) feeling tired
(3) feeling anxious
(4) feeling over-emotional
(5) being changeable in spirits (labile)
(6) feeling low-spirited
(7) being forgetful or being “muddled”
(8) feeling tense (mentally)
(9) feeling restless
(10) feeling overly sensitive
(11) having “up and down” moods
Response
Points
more than usual
1
no different from usual
0
where:
• Items 5 and 11 may overlap.
total “blues” score =
= SUM(points for all 11 questions)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 11
• A score >= 8 is considered a positive screen.
Limitations
• Depression at baseline may not be detected. One solution might be to ask the questions twice, once for things that have changed and once for current feeling.
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