The lifetime costs of perinatal depression and anxiety in Brazil

Background: Each year, an estimated 860,000 Brazilian women experience depression and anxiety perinatally. Despite well-known devastating impacts of these conditions on mothers and children, they remain neglected in low- and middle-income countries. Knowing the costs of untreated perinatal depression and anxiety can inform decision-making.

Methods: Simulation modelling is used to examine lifetime costs of perinatal depression and anxiety for a hypothetical cohort of women and their children, followed until children are aged 40 years. Costs are measured from a societal perspective, including healthcare expenditure, productivity and health-related quality of life losses; 2017 data are taken from country-specific sources. Present values are calculated using a discount rate of 3 %.

Results: Lifetime cost of perinatal depression and anxiety in Brazil are USD 4.86 billion or R$ 26.16 billion, including costs linked to poorer quality of life (USD 2.65 billion), productivity loss (USD 2.16 billion) and hospital care (USD 0.05 billion). When the costs associated with maternal suicide are included, total costs increase to USD 4.93 billion.

Limitations: Several costs could not be included in the analysis because of a lack of data. The study is reliant of longitudinal data on associations between perinatal depression and anxiety and impacts on mothers and children. Therefore, no causality can be inferred.

Conclusion: Our findings illustrate the economic rationale for investment in this area. This is the first study that estimates the costs of perinatal mental health problems in a low- or middle-income country setting.