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SALT LAKE CITY — Women who have depression during or in the perinatal period after pregnancy are less likely to have depression, according to two international studies that looked at data from a large sample of more than 950,000 women. They were found to have a higher risk of suicide than women. Swedish registry.
The increased risk remained high throughout the 18-year follow-up period.
A study published in JAMA network open, stated that women with perinatal depression had a three times higher risk of suicidal behavior, including attempted suicide and attempted suicide. According to the National Institutes of Health, the perinatal period is broadly defined as the period from one year before a child is born to two years after the birth.
Researchers found that the risk was greatest within a year after diagnosis of perinatal depression and was three times the risk for women without depression. “Notably, this association was greater among women without a history of mental illness and comparable among women with a history of depression and those with a history of other mental illnesses.”
Although the risk of suicidal behavior decreased over time, it was still twice the risk for women without pregnancy-related depression.
The researchers said the findings suggest that “careful clinical monitoring and intervention is needed in this vulnerable population to prevent such devastating events.”
In the second study, Journal BMJ, looked at deaths from all causes in people with perinatal depression. The risk of death for postpartum depression increased, again becoming more pronounced within the first year. The researchers noted that the strongest association with death was suicide, but “suicide was rare.”
The study involved comparing 20,000 women with perinatal depression to biological sisters who gave birth around the same time without evidence of depression. They did this to ensure there were no confounding genetic associations. Researchers found that sisters with depression were three times more likely to commit suicide than sisters without depression.
The researchers concluded: “Even when accounting for familial factors, women with clinically diagnosed perinatal depression are associated with an increased risk of death, especially in the first year after diagnosis and by suicide. Affected women, their families, and health professionals should take appropriate measures.” We are aware of these serious health consequences following perinatal depression. ”
The New York Times looked behind the numbers and reported: “The average age of women who experienced perinatal depression was 31 years. Women were more likely than those without the disease to live alone, have a low income, have low education, and have recently smoked,” researchers wrote. , among other characteristics, reported that she had never given birth before. ”
The Times notes that women are also “more likely to have had a past history of mental illness or suicidal behavior. However, research shows that whether women have other mental health problems or not, “We found that perinatal depression increases the risk of suicidal behavior and death.”
San Francisco Health University states that about 9% of pregnancies involve perinatal depression. The American Psychiatric Association emphasizes that this disease is treatable.
