Mobile apps can be helpful for the health protection of pregnant women. According to a research report, mobile apps can help predict whether a woman is likely to suffer from depression after pregnancy. For this, the researchers’ model was up to 93% accurate.
The researchers identified various risk factors, including sleep quality and food insecurity, in developing depression by asking women to answer surveys during the first trimester of pregnancy. For this, the research team analyzed the answers of 944 pregnant women. These women used the app as part of a larger study and had no history of depression.
How Will This App Help
In the first trimester of pregnancy, women answered questions about demographics, their medical history, and feelings of stress and sadness. Some also answered optional questions on social factors related to their health, such as food insecurity. All women were screened for depression once in each trimester.
The researchers developed six machine-learning models using all the data. The best was found to be 89 per cent accurate in predicting depression in a pregnant woman. Machine learning algorithms are a form of AI (artificial intelligence) that learns from past data to make predictions.
When the researchers included answers to optional questions on health-related social factors, the model’s accuracy increased to 93%. The researchers are now developing ways to integrate these survey questions into the clinical setting and identifying how clinicians can communicate with patients about depression risk.
