Postpartum depression (PPD) is a major public health concern, yet we lack tools to predict PPD during pregnancy. We found that lower sensorimotor gating, as measured by prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response, can predict risk of PPD in women who were not depressed during their pregnancy.
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References
Orsolini, L. et al. Suicide during perinatal period: epidemiology, risk factors, and clinical correlates. Front. Psychiatry 7, 138 (2016). A review about risk factors and clinical correlates associated with suicidal behaviors in pregnancy and postpartum.
Cox, E. Q., Sowa, N. A., Meltzer-Brody, S. E. & Gaynes, B. N. The perinatal depression treatment cascade: baby steps toward improving outcomes. J. Clin. Psychiatry 77, 1189–1200 (2016). A key review article showing low rates of diagnosis and treatment for depression both during pregnancy and postpartum.
San-Martin, R. et al. Meta-analysis of sensorimotor gating deficits in patients with schizophrenia evaluated by prepulse inhibition test. Schizophr. Bull. 46, 1482–1497 (2020). A meta-analysis showing that lower PPI is seen in patients with schizophrenia.
Axfors, C. et al. Cohort profile: the Biology, Affect, Stress, Imaging and Cognition (BASIC) study on perinatal depression in a population-based Swedish cohort. BMJ Open 9, e031514 (2019). A protocol paper describing the cohort that is the basis of the current study.
Kask, K., Gulinello, M., Bäckström, T., Geyer, M. A. & Sundström-Poromaa, I. Patients with premenstrual dysphoric disorder have increased startle response across both cycle phases and lower levels of prepulse inhibition during the late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Neuropsychopharmacology 33, 2283–2290 (2008). An early study that inspired our protocol, showing that female gonadal hormones are involved in regulation of the startle response.
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This is a summary of: Eriksson, A. et al. The role of prepulse inhibition in predicting new-onset postpartum depression. Nat. Mental Health https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-024-00279-1 (2024).
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Predicting risk of postpartum depression using neurophysiological measures. Nat. Mental Health (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-024-00288-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-024-00288-0
