Survey study, 2013
Is emotional PMS connected to postpartum depression risk?
Yes. Women with three or more emotional PMS symptoms had 3.78 times the risk of developing postpartum depression compared to other women.
What they did
94 women who had just given birth at a Brazilian maternity hospital completed questionnaires about their emotional symptoms before their period and their risk of postpartum depression.
What they found
Women who reported three or more emotional symptoms before their period had 3.78 times the postpartum depression risk of other women. The two conditions may share similar hormonal causes.
What it means for you
Emotional symptoms of PMS may be linked to a higher risk of depression after birth, possibly through similar changes in brain chemicals. However, this was a small study from one hospital over one year, so results may not apply to all women. The study shows a connection but cannot prove that PMS causes postpartum depression.
94
women in the study
3.78
times higher postpartum depression risk with emotional PMS
3 or more
emotional symptoms indicating higher risk
About the study
- Original title
- Association between emotional symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and the risk of developing depressive symptoms in the postpartum period
- Authors
- Elza Alves de Morais, Flavia Casasanta Marini, Antônio Carlos Vieira Cabral
- Journal
- Revista Médica de Minas Gerais
- Year
- 2013
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 94
- What was tested
- Emotional PMS symptoms and postpartum depression risk
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.5935/2238-3182.20130043
Original abstract
This study verified a possible association between emotional status in the pre-menstrual period (emotional PMS) and the risk of postnatal depression. Were included 94 women in the immediate postpartum period at the Maternity Hospital of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Hospital das Clinicas from July 2011 to August 2012. Questionnaires were used to assess pre-menstrual symptoms and to determine the Edinburgh Scale for the risk of developing postnatal depression. Reports of three or more emotional symptoms in the premenstrual period and a score of 12 or more in the Edinburgh Scale were correlated using chi-square test, with a p<0.05 considered for relevance. The Relative Risk (RR) for an association between emotional PMS and a higher risk of postnatal depression was calculated and considered significant. Emotional changes were associated to a 3.78 RR of emotional PMS and increased risk to develop postnatal depression. It is possible that both situations have pathophysiologic similarities in the release of neurotransmitters particularly affected by hormonal changes that happen in both the moments. A well-defined emotional PMS predisposes to increased risk of puerperal depression.
Reproduced under CC-BY.
Topics
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