Voice analysis and deep learning for detecting mental disorders in pregnant women: a cross-sectional study
Abstract Introduction Perinatal mental disorders are prevalent, affecting 10–20% of pregnant women, and can negatively impact both maternal and neonatal outcomes. Traditional screening tools, such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), present limitations due to subjectivity and time co...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Discover Mental Health |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44192-025-00138-0 |
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| _version_ | 1825197560424300544 |
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| author | Hikaru Ooba Jota Maki Hisashi Masuyama |
| author_facet | Hikaru Ooba Jota Maki Hisashi Masuyama |
| author_sort | Hikaru Ooba |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Introduction Perinatal mental disorders are prevalent, affecting 10–20% of pregnant women, and can negatively impact both maternal and neonatal outcomes. Traditional screening tools, such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), present limitations due to subjectivity and time constraints in clinical settings. Recent advances in voice analysis and machine learning have shown potential for providing more objective screening methods. This study aimed to develop a deep learning model that analyzes the voices of pregnant women to screen for mental disorders, thereby offering an alternative to the traditional tools. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 204 pregnant women, from whom voice samples were collected during their one-month postpartum checkup. The audio data were preprocessed into 5000 ms intervals, converted into mel-spectrograms, and augmented using TrivialAugment and context-rich minority oversampling. The EfficientFormer V2-L model, pretrained on ImageNet, was employed with transfer learning for classification. The hyperparameters were optimized using Optuna, and an ensemble learning approach was used for the final predictions. The model’s performance was compared to that of the EPDS in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and other diagnostic metrics. Results Of the 172 participants analyzed (149 without mental disorders and 23 with mental disorders), the voice-based model demonstrated a sensitivity of 1.00 and a recall of 0.82, outperforming the EPDS in these areas. However, the EPDS exhibited higher specificity (0.97) and precision (0.84). No significant difference was observed in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve between the two methods (p = 0.759). Discussion The voice-based model showed higher sensitivity and recall, suggesting that it may be more effective in identifying at-risk individuals than the EPDS. Machine learning and voice analysis are promising objective screening methods for mental disorders during pregnancy, potentially improving early detection. Conclusion We developed a lightweight machine learning model to analyze pregnant women's voices for screening various mental disorders, achieving high sensitivity and demonstrating the potential of voice analysis as an effective and objective tool in perinatal mental health care. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0c16a64a8e2540998a14c01920a29ca0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2731-4383 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Discover Mental Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-0c16a64a8e2540998a14c01920a29ca02025-02-09T12:14:57ZengSpringerDiscover Mental Health2731-43832025-02-015111110.1007/s44192-025-00138-0Voice analysis and deep learning for detecting mental disorders in pregnant women: a cross-sectional studyHikaru Ooba0Jota Maki1Hisashi Masuyama2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical SciencesDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical SciencesDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical SciencesAbstract Introduction Perinatal mental disorders are prevalent, affecting 10–20% of pregnant women, and can negatively impact both maternal and neonatal outcomes. Traditional screening tools, such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), present limitations due to subjectivity and time constraints in clinical settings. Recent advances in voice analysis and machine learning have shown potential for providing more objective screening methods. This study aimed to develop a deep learning model that analyzes the voices of pregnant women to screen for mental disorders, thereby offering an alternative to the traditional tools. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 204 pregnant women, from whom voice samples were collected during their one-month postpartum checkup. The audio data were preprocessed into 5000 ms intervals, converted into mel-spectrograms, and augmented using TrivialAugment and context-rich minority oversampling. The EfficientFormer V2-L model, pretrained on ImageNet, was employed with transfer learning for classification. The hyperparameters were optimized using Optuna, and an ensemble learning approach was used for the final predictions. The model’s performance was compared to that of the EPDS in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and other diagnostic metrics. Results Of the 172 participants analyzed (149 without mental disorders and 23 with mental disorders), the voice-based model demonstrated a sensitivity of 1.00 and a recall of 0.82, outperforming the EPDS in these areas. However, the EPDS exhibited higher specificity (0.97) and precision (0.84). No significant difference was observed in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve between the two methods (p = 0.759). Discussion The voice-based model showed higher sensitivity and recall, suggesting that it may be more effective in identifying at-risk individuals than the EPDS. Machine learning and voice analysis are promising objective screening methods for mental disorders during pregnancy, potentially improving early detection. Conclusion We developed a lightweight machine learning model to analyze pregnant women's voices for screening various mental disorders, achieving high sensitivity and demonstrating the potential of voice analysis as an effective and objective tool in perinatal mental health care.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44192-025-00138-0Perinatal mental disordersVoice analysisMachine learningScreeningPregnant women |
| spellingShingle | Hikaru Ooba Jota Maki Hisashi Masuyama Voice analysis and deep learning for detecting mental disorders in pregnant women: a cross-sectional study Discover Mental Health Perinatal mental disorders Voice analysis Machine learning Screening Pregnant women |
| title | Voice analysis and deep learning for detecting mental disorders in pregnant women: a cross-sectional study |
| title_full | Voice analysis and deep learning for detecting mental disorders in pregnant women: a cross-sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Voice analysis and deep learning for detecting mental disorders in pregnant women: a cross-sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Voice analysis and deep learning for detecting mental disorders in pregnant women: a cross-sectional study |
| title_short | Voice analysis and deep learning for detecting mental disorders in pregnant women: a cross-sectional study |
| title_sort | voice analysis and deep learning for detecting mental disorders in pregnant women a cross sectional study |
| topic | Perinatal mental disorders Voice analysis Machine learning Screening Pregnant women |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44192-025-00138-0 |
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