Purpose of the Study, Research design, and Methodology

The article "Depressed mood and anxiety as risk factors for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy; a systematic review and meta-analysis" focuses on looking at the effects of a carrier having anxiety and depression on the pregnancy. It has been known that having stress and such psychosocial factors influence blood pressure in the general population. Still, many are less familiar with its effect on hypertensive pregnancy disorders (HDP), which is among the most significant maternal deaths. This research was put forth to tackle that case. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between depression and pregnancy anxiety and hypertensive disorders and to determine if their presence is a risk factor in early pregnancy. The methodology used was a combination of medical data sources and research from Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL. It accompanied an analysis of the presence or non-existence of psychosocial causes or a medical report of clinically relevant symptoms. Consequently, a diagnosis of HDP was made, and finally, the comparison between the depressed and anxious to their opposites was made to get an inference.

Data collection methods, sample size, and summary of findings

Comprehensive, detailed research was done up until March 2020 across 61.2 million pregnancies, involving a total of 44 studies, and out of that, 6291 inferences were made. The data was of mixed-method, both qualitative and quantitative. There is the clinical diagnosis of significant symptoms of depression and anxiety that were carried out. Also, a look at a pregnant woman's medical record to see for the recent history of a former diagnosis was considered. The 6291 citations found that depression and anxiety were associated with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. The results were tabulated at a confidence interval of 95% and came out with a risk ratio of 1.39.

Strengths and Limitations of the study

From what I have observed, the research conducted had several strengths. First, it was done over a long period and across very many pregnancies amounting to 61.2 million, and this ensured quality of the conclusions made. Furthermore, many sources were used to gather the data, including Medline and Embase, similarly ensuring accurate calculations. The quantitative data was relatively easy to analyze, and it provides data that is very precise and reliable. The qualitative data is cost-efficient, and it complements the quantitative data by providing more information to explain complex issues.

There was a couple of limitations of this study from what I have observed. Time was consumed in the data collection stage, difficult to analyze, especially the qualitative data. Another limitation   is that the pregnant women may not have been open about expressing their psychological issues, which would consequently lead to erroneous data. Since it takes a long period and access to personal information, it is an expensive research study.

Recommendations

The following are the recommendations I figured best fit for the future potential application from the limitations and strengths. The research study should aim more to get more quantitative data than qualitative data, enhancing the findings' accuracy. Data should be collected from a psyche evaluation that has been done while the woman is pregnant and not taken from the history of the medical records.