A new study provides evidence that previous depression associated with hormonal contraceptive use may be a risk factor for subsequent postpartum depression. This study provides insight into the relationship between hormone sensitivity, reproductive transition and risk of depression in women. A new discovery was made JAMAPsychiatry.
Postpartum depression is a type of depression that occurs in women after giving birth. It is a common mental health condition that affects about 10-15% of women during the postpartum period, usually during the first weeks and months after giving birth.
The exact cause of postpartum depression is not fully understood, but it is thought to be a combination of physical, hormonal, and emotional factors. Hormonal changes, such as the rapid drop in estrogen and progesterone levels after childbirth, can contribute to mood swings and emotional instability.
“We want to know if depressive episodes with potential hormonal influences are relevant to women’s reproductive life as a whole, and with such support, we can explore the existence of subgroups of women who are more sensitive to hormonal fluctuations.” I was intrigued by the concept of ,” said study author Soren Winter Larsen of Neurobiology Research. Unit of the Rigshospitalet and the University of Copenhagen.
“Such knowledge could aid meaningful risk profiling of women and guide precision psychiatric efforts toward prevention and targeted treatment of such episodes as perinatal depressive episodes.”
To conduct this study, the researchers used the Danish National Health Register, which provided comprehensive data on the study population. The study included all Danish women who were born after 1978 and had their first child between 1 January 1996 and 30 June 2017.
The researchers looked at women who had never used hormonal contraception, those who migrated at age 16 or older, those who had a depressive episode before 1996 or within the 12 months before giving birth, and those who had multiple or stillbirths. excluded women who
The final sample included 188,648 primiparous women who had used hormonal contraception before their child was born.
Eligible exposure was defined as a depressive episode occurring within 6 months after initiation of hormonal contraceptives. Outcomes of interest are the development of postpartum depression, which is defined by filling a prescription for antidepressants within 6 months of delivery or receiving a discharge diagnosis of depression within 6 months of delivery. is defined as
Researchers found that women with a history of depression associated with hormonal contraception had a higher risk of postpartum depression compared with women with a history of depression not associated with hormonal contraception.
“We consider two important messages from this work. First, women who develop depressive episodes after starting hormonal contraception may be more likely to develop postpartum depression later in life.” Second, it supports the idea that there are subgroups of women who are more sensitive to hormonal changes during the reproductive period,” Larsen told Cypost.
Results were consistent even when we adjusted for potential confounders and performed sensitivity analyses.
“The association between hormonal contraceptive use-related depression and birth-related onset depression is evident, and not even attenuated, when depressive episodes that occur later in pregnancy are included. I understand,” Larsen said.
“This suggests that depression can occur in women who are sensitive to hormonal contraceptives, both during a state of highly stimulated hormones during pregnancy and during depressive episodes that develop after a sharp drop in hormone levels after childbirth.” This indicates that it may contribute to the pathogenesis mechanism.”
However, like any other study, this study contains several caveats.
“If we use the National Health Registry, we can only catch a depressive episode if it is registered as a hospital discharge diagnosis of depression or if we are filling a prescription for antidepressants, which is more serious. Only in severe cases,” Larsen explained. “Thus, our results do not necessarily generalize to less severe cases, or cases where women experience mood-related side effects from hormonal contraceptive use but have never had a depressive episode. No. Future studies should investigate whether the experience of such side effects may reveal potential susceptibility to develop postpartum depression.”
“The results of this study do not suggest that a history of hormonal contraceptive use increases the risk of postpartum depression, and that a history of depression associated with hormonal contraceptives may mask susceptibility to postpartum depression.” It’s important to emphasize that it shows something,” Larsen added. “Furthermore, this study is an observational study, so causality cannot be inferred.”
the study, “Depression associated with hormonal contraceptive use as a risk indicator for postpartum depression’ was written by Søren Vinther Larsen, Anders Pretzmann Mikkelsen, Øjvind Lidegaard and Vibe Gedso Frokjaer.
