The effect of antenatal depression and antidepressant treatment on placental tissue: a protein-validated gene expression study.

BACKGROUND: Antenatal depression affects 10-20% of pregnant women. Around 2-4% of European pregnant women use antidepressant treatment, most commonly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Poor pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth and low birth weight, have been described in women with antenatal depression and in pregnant women on SSRI treatment. However, the effects of antenatal depression and antidepressant treatment on the placenta are largely unknown. The aim of this work was to compare placental gene and protein expression in healthy women, women with untreated antenatal depression and women on antidepressant treatment during pregnancy. METHODS: Placental samples from 47 controls, 25 depressed and 45 SSRI-treated women were analysed by means of qPCR using custom-designed TaqMan low-density arrays (TLDAs) for 44 genes previously known to be involved in the pathophysiology of depression, and expressed in the placenta. Moreover, placental protein expression was determined by means of immunohistochemistry in 37 healthy controls, 13 women with untreated depression and 21 women on antidepressant treatment. Statistical comparisons between groups were performed by one-way ANOVA or the Kruskal-Wallis test. RESULTS: Nominally significant findings were noted for HTR1A and NPY2R, where women with untreated depression displayed higher gene expression than healthy controls (p < 0.05), whereas women on antidepressant treatment had similar expression as healthy controls. The protein expression analyses revealed higher expression of HTR1A in placentas from women on antidepressant treatment, than in placentas from healthy controls (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The differentially expressed HTR1A, both at the gene and the protein level that was revealed in this study, suggests the involvement of HTR1A in the effect of antenatal depression on biological mechanisms in the placenta. More research is needed to elucidate the role of depression and antidepressant treatment on the placenta, and, further, the effect on the fetus.

Cohort profile: the Biology, Affect, Stress, Imaging and Cognition (BASIC) study on perinatal depression in a population-based Swedish cohort.

PURPOSE: With the population-based, prospective Biology, Affect, Stress, Imaging and Cognition (BASIC) cohort, we aim to investigate the biopsychosocial aetiological processes involved in perinatal depression (PND) and to pinpoint its predictors in order to improve early detection. PARTICIPANTS: From September 2009 to November 2018, the BASIC study at Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden, has enrolled 5492 women, in 6478 pregnancies, of which 46.3% first-time pregnancies and with an average age of 31.5 years. After inclusion around gestational week 16-18, participants are followed-up with data collection points around gestational week 32, at childbirth, as well as three times postpartum: after 6 weeks, 6 months and 1 year. At the last follow-up, 70.8% still remain in the cohort. FINDINGS TO DATE: In addition to internet-based surveys with self-report instruments, participants contribute with biological samples, for example, blood samples (maternal and from umbilical cord), biopsies (umbilical cord and placenta) and microbiota samples. A nested case-control subsample also takes part in cognitive and emotional tests, heart rate variability tests and bioimpedance tests. Subprojects have identified various correlates of PND of psychological and obstetric origin in addition to factors of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and immune system. FUTURE PLANS: In parallel with the completion of data collection (final follow-up November 2019), BASIC study data are currently analysed in multiple subprojects. Since 2012, we are conducting an ongoing follow-up study on the participants and their children up to 6 years of age (U-BIRTH). Researchers interested in collaboration may contact Professor Alkistis Skalkidou (corresponding author) with their request to be considered by the BASIC study steering committee.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responsiveness, startle response, and sensorimotor gating in late pregnancy.

During pregnancy, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the main regulator of the stress response, undergoes dramatic changes. The acoustic startle response (ASR) and the prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response are neurophysiological research tools and objective measures of an individual's response to an emotional context or stressor. The ASR and PPI are influenced by psychiatric diseases characterized by anxiety symptoms and are sensitive to cortisol. Hence, the ASR and the PPI can be used to investigate the effects of pregnancy-induced endocrine changes and their contribution to affective disorders. The present study sought to investigate the association between measures of HPA-axis responsiveness, startle reactivity and sensorimotor gating during pregnancy that to date remains unknown. The eye-blink component of the ASR, and its prepulse inhibition, were measured in 107 late third trimester pregnant women. Saliva samples were collected to assess the cortisol awakening response (CAR), a measure of HPA-axis activity. Blood was sampled to measure serum levels of cortisol, cortisone and the cortisone to cortisol ratio. Ongoing anxiety disorders, sleep duration, smoking, and age were considered as potential confounders in the statistical analyses. CAR reactivity, measured as area under the curve (AUC) increase and above baseline, was positively associated with baseline startle magnitude [Cohen's d = 0.27; F (1, 105) = 4.99; p = 0.028, and Cohen's d = 0.30; F (1, 105) = 6.25; p = 0.014, respectively] as well as PPI at 86 dB [Cohen's d = 0.29; F (1, 105) = 5.93; p = 0.017; and Cohen's d = 0.34; F (1, 105) = 8.38; p = 0.005, respectively]. The observed positive correlation between startle magnitude in pregnant women and greater increase in cortisol during the awakening response may be interpreted as heightened neurophysiological reactivity, likely associated with dysregulation of the stress system.

Stress-related genetic polymorphisms in association with peripartum depression symptoms and stress hormones: A longitudinal population-based study.

Individual differences in the response of the stress system to hormonal changes during pregnancy and the postpartum period render some women susceptible to developing depression. The present study sought to investigate peripartum depression and stress hormones in relation to stress-related genotypes. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was used to assess peripartum depressive symptoms in a sample of 1629 women, followed from pregnancy week seventeen to six months postpartum. Genotypes of ninety-four haplotype-tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in sixteen genes of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis pathway were analyzed and data on psychosocial and demographic factors was collected. In sub-studies, salivary cortisol awakening response in gestational week 35-39, salivary evening cortisol levels in gestational week 36 and postpartum week 6, and blood cortisol and cortisone levels in gestational week 35-39 were analyzed. SNP-set kernel association tests were performed at the gene-level, considering psychosocial and demographic factors, followed by post-hoc analyses of SNPs of significant genes. Statistically significant findings at the 0.05 p-level included SNPs in the hydroxysteroid 11-beta dehydrogenase 1 (HSD11B1) gene in relation to self-rated depression scores in postpartum week six among all participants, and serpin family A member 6 (SERPINA6) gene at the same time-point among women with de novo onset of postpartum depression. SNPs in these genes also associated with stress hormone levels during pregnancy. The present study adds knowledge to the neurobiological basis of peripartum depression by systematically assessing SNPs in stress-regulatory genes and stress-hormone levels in a population-based sample of women.

Neuroticism is associated with higher antenatal care utilization in obstetric low-risk women.

INTRODUCTION: Elevated neuroticism is associated with higher health care utilization in the general population. This study aimed to investigate the association between neuroticism and the use of publicly financed antenatal care in obstetric low-risk women, taking predisposing and need factors for health care utilization into consideration. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Participants comprised 1052 obstetric low-risk women (no chronic diseases or adverse pregnancy conditions) included in several obstetrics/gynecology studies in Uppsala, Sweden. Neuroticism was self-rated on the Swedish universities Scales of Personality. Medical records of their first subsequent pregnancy were scanned for antenatal care use. Associations between antenatal care use and neuroticism were analyzed with logistic regression (binary outcomes) or negative binomial regression (count outcomes) comparing the 75th and 25th neuroticism percentiles. Depending on the Akaike information criterion the exposure was modeled as either linear or with restricted cubic splines. Analyses were adjusted for predisposing (sociodemographic and parity) and need factors (body mass index and psychiatric morbidity). RESULTS: After adjustment, women with higher neuroticism had more fetal ultrasounds (incidence rate ratio = 1.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-1.16), more emergency visits to an obstetrician/gynecologist (incidence rate ratio = 1.22, 95% CI 1.03-1.45) and were more likely to visit a fear-of-childbirth clinic (odds ratio = 2.71, 95% CI 1.71-4.29). Moreover, they more often consulted midwives in specialized antenatal care facilities (significant J-shaped association). CONCLUSIONS: Neuroticism was associated with higher utilization of publicly financed antenatal care in obstetric low-risk women, even after adjusting for predisposing and need factors. Future studies should address the benefits of interventions as a complement to routine antenatal care programs to reduce subclinical anxiety.

Expression of calcium release-activated and voltage-gated calcium channels genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells is altered in pregnancy and in type 1 diabetes.

Calcium (Ca2+) is an important ion in physiology and is found both outside and inside cells. The intracellular concentration of Ca2+ is tightly regulated as it is an intracellular signal molecule and can affect a variety of cellular processes. In immune cells Ca2+ has been shown to regulate e.g. gene transcription, cytokine secretion, proliferation and migration. Ca2+ can enter the cytoplasm either from intracellular stores or from outside the cells when Ca2+ permeable ion channels in the plasma membrane open. The Ca2+ release-activated (CRAC) channel is the most prominent Ca2+ ion channel in the plasma membrane. It is formed by ORAI1-3 and the channel is opened by the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ sensor proteins stromal interaction molecules (STIM) 1 and 2. Another group of Ca2+ channels in the plasma membrane are the voltage-gated Ca2+ (CaV) channels. We examined if a change in immunological tolerance is accompanied by altered ORAI, STIM and CaV gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in pregnant women and in type 1 diabetic individuals. Our results show that in pregnancy and type 1 diabetes ORAI1-3 are up-regulated whereas STIM1 and 2 are down-regulated in pregnancy but only STIM2 in type 1 diabetes. Expression of L-, P/Q-, R- and T-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels was detected in the PBMCs where the CaV2.3 gene was up-regulated in pregnancy and type 1 diabetes whereas the CaV 2.1 and CaV3.2 genes were up-regulated only in pregnancy and the CaV1.3 gene in type 1 diabetes. The results are consistent with that expression of ORAI, STIM and CaV genes correlate with a shift in immunological status of the individual in health, as during pregnancy, and in the autoimmune disease type 1 diabetes. Whether the changes are in general protective or in type 1 diabetes include some pathogenic components remains to be clarified.

Different patterns of attentional bias in antenatal and postpartum depression.

Background: Biased information processing in attention, memory, and interpretation is proposed to be central cognitive alterations in patients with major depressive disorder, but studies in women with peripartum depression are scarce. Because of the many similarities with depression in nonperipartum states as regards symptom profile and risk factors, we hypothesized that women with antenatal and postpartum depression would display attentional bias to negatively and positively valenced words. Methods: One hundred and seventy-seven pregnant and 157 postpartum women were included. Among these, 40 suffered from antenatal depressive disorder and 33 from postpartum depressive disorder. An emotional Stroop task with neutral, positive, negative, and negatively valenced obstetric words was used. Results: No significant difference in emotional interference scores was noted between women with antenatal depression and nondepressed pregnant women. In contrast, women with postpartum depression displayed shorter reaction times to both positive (p = .028) and negative (p = .022) stimuli, compared with neutral words. Pregnant women on antidepressant treatment displayed longer reaction times to negatively valenced obstetric words in comparison with untreated depressed women (p = .012), and a trend toward greater interference in comparison with controls (p = .061). Conclusions: In contrast with the hypothesis, we found no evidence of attentional bias to emotionally valenced stimuli in women with untreated peripartum depression. However, the shorter reaction times to emotional stimuli in women with postpartum depression may indicate emotional numbing, which in turn, is a functional impairment that may have repercussions for child development and well-being. Our findings emphasize the need to identify and treat women with postpartum depression at the earliest possible time point to ensure swift recovery and support for the family.

Maternal and female fetal testosterone levels are associated with maternal age and gestational weight gain.

OBJECTIVE: Prenatal androgen exposure has been suggested to play a role in polycystic ovary syndrome. Given the limited information on what maternal characteristics influence maternal testosterone levels, and the even less explored routes by which female fetus androgen exposure would occur, the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of maternal age, BMI, weight gain, depressed mood and aromatase SNPs on testosterone levels in maternal serum and amniotic fluid of female fetuses. METHODS: Blood samples from pregnant women (n = 216) obtained in gestational weeks 35-39, and pre-labor amniotic fluid samples from female fetuses (n = 56), taken at planned Caesarean section or in conjunction with amniotomy for induction of labor, were analyzed. Maternal serum testosterone and amniotic fluid testosterone and cortisol were measured by tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Multiparity (ß = -0.28, P < 0.001), self-rated depression (ß = 0.26, P < 0.001) and weight gain (ß = 0.18, P < 0.05) were independent explanatory factors for the maternal total testosterone levels. Maternal age (ß = -0.34, P < 0.001), weight gain (ß = 0.19, P < 0.05) and amniotic fluid cortisol levels (ß = 0.44, P < 0.001) were independent explanatory factors of amniotic fluid testosterone in female fetuses, explaining 64.3% of the variability in amniotic fluid testosterone. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: Young maternal age and excessive maternal weight gain may increase the prenatal androgen exposure of female fetuses. Further studies are needed to explore this finding.

Allopregnanolone levels and depressive symptoms during pregnancy in relation to single nucleotide polymorphisms in the allopregnanolone synthesis pathway.

Allopregnanolone, a neurosteroid whose levels rise throughout gestation, putatively stabilizes antenatal mood. The present study aimed to investigate associations of plasma allopregnanolone to antenatal depressive symptoms, as well as to genetic and obstetric factors. Allopregnanolone plasma levels from 284 pregnant women were measured around gestational week 18. Haplotype tag single nucleotide polymorphisms in the aldo-keto reductase family 1, members C2 and C4 (AKR1C2, AKR1C4), and steroid 5 alpha-reductase 1 and 2 (SRD5A1, and SRD5A2) genes were genotyped in a larger sample of pregnant women (n=1351). The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was administered via web-questionnaires in gestational weeks 17 and 32. Demographic and obstetric data was retrieved from web-questionnaires and medical records. There was no association between allopregnanolone levels and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, no associations between allopregnanolone level and synthesis pathway genotypes were found after accounting for multiple comparisons. However, exploratory analyses suggested that the women who were homozygous for the minor allele of the AKR1C2 polymorphism rs1937863 had nominally lower allopregnanolone levels and lower depression scores in gestational week 17, but also the highest increase in depression scores between week 17 and 32. Additionally, higher body mass index was associated with lower allopregnanolone levels. The results do not support second trimester plasma allopregnanolone as a mood stabilizing factor. However, we speculate that AKR1C2 variation may alter the susceptibility to depressive symptoms through effects on central allopregnanolone synthesis. Another implication of this study is that the relationship between neuroactive steroids and obesity in pregnancy deserves to be investigated.

Lower inflammatory markers in women with antenatal depression brings the M1/M2 balance into focus from a new direction.

BACKGROUND: Antenatal depression and use of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) in pregnancy have both been associated with an increased risk of poor pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth and impaired fetal growth. While the underlying biological pathways for these complications are poorly understood, it has been hypothesized that inflammation may be a common physiological pathway. The aim of the present study was to assess peripheral inflammatory markers in healthy women, women with antenatal depression, and in women using SSRI during pregnancy. METHODS: 160 healthy pregnant controls, 59 women with antenatal depression and 39 women on treatment with SSRIs were included. The relative levels of 92 inflammatory proteins were analyzed by proximity extension assay technology. RESULTS: Overall, 23 of the inflammatory markers were significantly lower in women with antenatal depression and in women on treatment with SSRIs in comparison with the healthy controls. No difference in any of the inflammatory markers was observed between women with antenatal depression and those who were using SSRI. Top three inflammatory markers that were down-regulated in women with antenatal depression were TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), p=0.000001, macrophage colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1), p=0.000004, and fractalkine (CX3CL1), p=0.000005. Corresponding inflammatory markers in SSRI users were CSF-1, p=0.000011, vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A), p=0.000016, and IL-15 receptor subunit alpha (IL-15RA), p=0.000027. The inflammatory markers were negatively correlated with cortisone serum concentrations in controls, but not in the cases. Differential DNA methylation of was found for seven of these inflammatory markers in an independent epigenetics cohort. CONCLUSION: Women with antenatal depression or on SSRI treatment have lower levels of a number of peripheral inflammatory markers than healthy pregnant controls. Hypothetically, this could be due to dysregulated switch to the pro-M2 milieu that characterizes normal third trimester pregnancy. However, longitudinal blood sampling is needed to elucidate whether the presumably dysregulated M2 shift is driving the development of antenatal depression or is a result of the depression.

Inflammatory markers in late pregnancy in association with postpartum depression-A nested case-control study.

Recent studies indicate that the immune system adaptation during pregnancy could play a significant role in the pathophysiology of perinatal depression. The aim of this study was to investigate if inflammation markers in a late pregnancy plasma sample can predict the presence of depressive symptoms at eight weeks postpartum. Blood samples from 291 pregnant women (median and IQR for days to delivery, 13 and 7-23days respectively) comprising 63 individuals with postpartum depressive symptoms, as assessed by the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS≥12) and/or the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) and 228 controls were analyzed with an inflammation protein panel using multiplex proximity extension assay technology, comprising of 92 inflammation-associated markers. A summary inflammation variable was also calculated. Logistic regression, LASSO and Elastic net analyses were implemented. Forty markers were lower in late pregnancy among women with depressive symptoms postpartum. The difference remained statistically significant for STAM-BP (or otherwise AMSH), AXIN-1, ADA, ST1A1 and IL-10, after Bonferroni correction. The summary inflammation variable was ranked as the second best variable, following personal history of depression, in predicting depressive symptoms postpartum. The protein-level findings for STAM-BP and ST1A1 were validated in relation to methylation status of loci in the respective genes in a different population, using openly available data. This explorative approach revealed differences in late pregnancy levels of inflammation markers between women presenting with depressive symptoms postpartum and controls, previously not described in the literature. Despite the fact that the results do not support the use of a single inflammation marker in late pregnancy for assessing risk of postpartum depression, the use of STAM-BP or the novel notion of a summary inflammation variable developed in this work might be used in combination with other biological markers in the future.

AMPA, NMDA and kainate glutamate receptor subunits are expressed in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) where the expression of GluK4 is altered by pregnancy and GluN2D by depression in pregnant women.

The amino acid glutamate opens cation permeable ion channels, the iGlu receptors. These ion channels are abundantly expressed in the mammalian brain where glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter. The neurotransmitters and their receptors are being increasingly detected in the cells of immune system. Here we examined the expression of the 18 known subunits of the iGlu receptors families; α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA), kainate, N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) and delta in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). We compared the expression of the subunits between four groups: men, non-pregnant women, healthy pregnant women and depressed pregnant women. Out of 18 subunits of the iGlu receptors, mRNAs for 11 subunits were detected in PBMCs from men and non-pregnant women; AMPA: GluA3, GluA4, kainate: GluK2, GluK4, GluK5, NMDA: GluN1, GluN2C, GluN2D, GluN3A, GluN3B, and delta: GluD1. In the healthy and the depressed pregnant women, in addition, the delta GluD2 subunit was identified. The mRNAs for GluK4, GluK5, GluN2C and GluN2D were expressed at a higher level than other subunits. Gender, pregnancy or depression during pregnancy altered the expression of GluA3, GluK4, GluN2D, GluN3B and GluD1 iGlu subunit mRNAs. The greatest changes recorded were the lower GluA3 and GluK4 mRNA levels in pregnant women and the higher GluN2D mRNA level in healthy but not in depressed pregnant women as compared to non-pregnant individuals. Using subunit specific antibodies, the GluK4, GluK5, GluN1, GluN2C and GluN2D subunit proteins were identified in the PBMCs. The results show expression of specific iGlu receptor subunit in the PBMCs and support the idea of physiology-driven changes of iGlu receptors subtypes in the immune cells.

MID-PREGNANCY CORTICOTROPIN-RELEASING HORMONE LEVELS IN ASSOCIATION WITH POSTPARTUM DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS.

BACKGROUND: Peripartum depression is a common cause of pregnancy- and postpartum-related morbidity. The production of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) from the placenta alters the profile of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis hormones and may be associated with postpartum depression. The purpose of this study was to assess, in nondepressed pregnant women, the possible association between CRH levels in pregnancy and depressive symptoms postpartum. METHODS: A questionnaire containing demographic data and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was filled in gestational weeks 17 and 32, and 6 week postpartum. Blood samples were collected in week 17 for assessment of CRH. A logistic regression model was constructed, using postpartum EPDS score as the dependent variable and log-transformed CRH levels as the independent variable. Confounding factors were included in the model. Subanalyses after exclusion of study subjects with preterm birth, newborns small for gestational age (SGA), and women on corticosteroids were performed. RESULTS: Five hundred thirty-five women without depressive symptoms during pregnancy were included. Logistic regression showed an association between high CRH levels in gestational week 17 and postpartum depressive symptoms, before and after controlling for several confounders (unadjusted OR = 1.11, 95% CI 1.01-1.22; adjusted OR = 1.13, 95% CI 1.02-1.26; per 0.1 unit increase in log CRH). Exclusion of women with preterm birth and newborns SGA as well as women who used inhalation corticosteroids during pregnancy did not alter the results. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests an association between high CRH levels in gestational week 17 and the development of postpartum depressive symptoms, among women without depressive symptoms during pregnancy.

Tandem mass spectrometry determined maternal cortisone to cortisol ratio and psychiatric morbidity during pregnancy-interaction with birth weight.

Maternal serum cortisol has been suggested to be influenced by psychiatric morbidity, and may also influence fetal growth. However, several studies found equal cortisol levels in depressed and healthy pregnant women. Placental 11-ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11ß-HSD2) shields the fetus from maternal cortisol by conversion to cortisone, a function that may be compromised by maternal stress. We aimed to compare the serum ratio of cortisone to cortisol, in women with and without psychiatric morbidity during pregnancy. A secondary aim was to investigate whether fetal growth, approximated by infant birth weight, was associated with the cortisone to cortisol ratio. We performed tandem mass spectrometry analysis of serum cortisol and cortisone in late pregnancy in 94 women with antenatal psychiatric morbidity and 122 controls (cohort 1). We also compared the placental gene expression of HSD11B1 and 2 in another group of 69 women with psychiatric morbidity and 47 controls (cohort 2). There were no group differences in cortisol to cortisone ratio, absolute levels of cortisone and cortisol (cohort 1), or expression of HSD11B1 or 2 (cohort 2). However, cortisone to cortisol ratio was positively associated with birth weight in women with psychiatric morbidity, also after adjustment for gestational length, fetal sex, maternal height, smoking, SSRI use, and time of blood sampling (standardized ß=0.35, p<0.001), with no association in the healthy controls Thus, the maternal serum cortisone to cortisol ratio does not seem to be affected by psychiatric morbidity, but psychiatric morbidity may increase fetal exposure to cortisol or other metabolic factors influencing fetal growth.

Sleep duration, depression, and oxytocinergic genotype influence prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex in postpartum women.

The postpartum period is characterized by a post-withdrawal hormonal status, sleep deprivation, and susceptibility to affective disorders. Postpartum mothering involves automatic and attentional processes to screen out new external as well as internal stimuli. The present study investigated sensorimotor gating in relation to sleep duration, depression, as well as catecholaminergic and oxytocinergic genotypes in postpartum women. Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle reflex and startle reactivity were assessed two months postpartum in 141 healthy and 29 depressed women. The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met, and oxytocin receptor (OXTR) rs237885 and rs53576 polymorphisms were genotyped, and data on sleep duration were collected. Short sleep duration (less than four hours in the preceding night) and postpartum depression were independently associated with lower PPI. Also, women with postpartum depression had higher startle reactivity in comparison with controls. The OXTR rs237885 genotype was related to PPI in an allele dose-dependent mode, with T/T healthy postpartum women carriers displaying the lowest PPI. Reduced sensorimotor gating was associated with sleep deprivation and depressive symptoms during the postpartum period. Individual neurophysiological vulnerability might be mediated by oxytocinergic genotype which relates to bonding and stress response. These findings implicate the putative relevance of lower PPI of the startle response as an objective physiological correlate of liability to postpartum depression.

Delineating the Association between Heavy Postpartum Haemorrhage and Postpartum Depression.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the association between postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) and postpartum depression (PPD), taking into account the role of postpartum anaemia, delivery experience and psychiatric history. METHODS: A nested cohort study (n = 446), based on two population-based cohorts in Uppsala, Sweden. Exposed individuals were defined as having a bleeding of ≥1000 ml (n = 196) at delivery, and non-exposed individuals as having bleeding of <650 ml (n = 250). Logistic regression models with PPD symptoms (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression scale (EPDS) score ≥ 12) as the outcome variable and PPH, anaemia, experience of delivery, mood during pregnancy and other confounders as exposure variables were undertaken. Path analysis using Structural Equation Modeling was also conducted. RESULTS: There was no association between PPH and PPD symptoms. A positive association was shown between anaemia at discharge from the maternity ward and the development of PPD symptoms, even after controlling for plausible confounders (OR = 2.29, 95%CI = 1.15-4.58). Path analysis revealed significant roles for anaemia at discharge, negative self-reported delivery experience, depressed mood during pregnancy and postpartum stressors in increasing the risk for PPD. CONCLUSION: This study proposes important roles for postpartum anaemia, negative experience of delivery and mood during pregnancy in explaining the development of depressive symptoms after PPH.

Depressed mood, anxiety, and the use of labor analgesia.

Relatively little is known about mental health and labor pain. The aim of this study was to assess if self-rated antenatal depressed mood and anxiety are associated with pain-related behaviors and self-reported labor pain. We also wanted to replicate our previous finding of altered labor pain behavior in carriers of a specific guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1 gene (GCH1) haplotype. Ninety-nine women in gestational weeks 37 to 40 filled out questionnaires on depression and anxiety symptoms and later rated their labor pain by use of visual analog scales. Each subject was also genotyped for GCH1. Following adjustment for relevant confounders, women who arrived early to the delivery unit (cervical dilation <5 cm) had a significantly higher antenatal Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS-S) score, p < 0.05, than late arrivers (cervical dilation >5 cm). Women with increased Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T) scores reported higher self-rated pain prior to labor analgesia, p < 0.05, than women with low STAI-T scores. No association between the GCH1 pain-protective haplotype and cervical dilation was found, but a previously demonstrated association with increased use of second-line analgesia was confirmed. Depressed mood during pregnancy is associated with early arrival to the delivery department, whereas antenatal anxiety is associated with increased self-rated pain prior to labor analgesia.

Prenatal and Postpartum Evening Salivary Cortisol Levels in Association with Peripartum Depressive Symptoms.

BACKGROUND: The biology of peripartum depression remains unclear, with altered stress and the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal axis response having been implicated in its pathophysiology. METHODS: The current study was undertaken as a part of the BASIC project (Biology, Affect, Stress, Imaging, Cognition), a population-based longitudinal study of psychological wellbeing during pregnancy and the postpartum period in Uppsala County, Sweden, in order to assess the association between evening salivary cortisol levels and depressive symptoms in the peripartum period. Three hundred and sixty-five pregnant women from the BASIC cohort were recruited at pregnancy week 18 and instructed to complete a Swedish validated version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at the 36th week of pregnancy as well as the sixth week after delivery. At both times, they were also asked to provide evening salivary samples for cortisol analysis. A comprehensive review of the relevant literature is also provided. RESULTS: Women with postpartum EPDS score ≥ 10 had higher salivary evening cortisol at six weeks postpartum compared to healthy controls (median cortisol 1.19 vs 0.89 nmol/L). A logistic regression model showed a positive association between cortisol levels and depressive symptoms postpartum (OR = 4.1; 95% CI 1.7-9.7). This association remained significant even after controlling for history of depression, use of tobacco, partner support, breastfeeding, stressful life events, and sleep problems, as possible confounders (aOR = 4.5; 95% CI 1.5-14.1). Additionally, women with postpartum depressive symptoms had higher postpartum cortisol levels compared to both women with depressive symptoms antenatally and controls (p = 0.019 and p = 0.004, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Women with depressive symptoms postpartum had higher postpartum cortisol levels, indicating an altered response of the HPA-axis in postpartum depression.

Supraphysiological hormonal status, anxiety disorders, and COMT Val/Val genotype are associated with reduced sensorimotor gating in women.

Pregnancy is a period characterized by a supraphysiological hormonal status, and greater anxiety proneness, which can lead to peripartum affective symptoms with dramatic consequences not only for the woman but also for the child. Clinical psychiatry is heavily hampered by the paucity of objective and biology-based intermediate phenotypes. Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response, a neurophysiological measure of sensorimotor gating, has been poorly investigated in relation to anxiety and in pregnant women. In the present study, the PPI of healthy non-pregnant women (n = 82) and late pregnant women (n = 217) was investigated. Age, BMI, depression and anxiety symptoms, tobacco use, and antidepressant medication were considered. We investigated and provided evidence of lower PPI: (i) in healthy pregnant women compared to healthy non-pregnant controls, (ii) in pregnant women with anxiety disorders compared to healthy pregnant women, (iii) in pregnant women with anxiety disorders using SSRI compared to un-medicated pregnant women with anxiety disorders, and (iv) in healthy pregnant women carrying the COMT Val158Met Val/Val genotype compared to Met carriers. Altogether, a reduced sensorimotor gating as an effect of supraphysiological hormonal status, anxiety disorders, SSRIs, and catecholaminergic genotype, implicate the putative relevance of lower PPI as an objective biological correlate of anxiety proneness in pregnant women. These findings call for prospective studies to dissect the multifactorial influences on PPI in relation to mental health of pregnant women.

Skin conductance activity in post-term pregnancies.

OBJECTIVE: The pain threshold in humans rises during late pregnancy, and the woman becomes less sensitive to stress. The aim of this study was to investigate whether monitoring the sympathetic nervous system response to stimuli by skin conductance activity might be a useful predictor of spontaneous onset of labour in post-term pregnancies. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective observational study. Fifty-two healthy pregnant women were consecutively asked for inclusion in the study at their post-term pregnancy examination. Initially, a Ctg (cardiotocography) registration was performed, followed by 5 min of skin conductance measurement including a "cold pressor test". Finally, a vaginal examination with a cervical assessment were performed according to clinical guidelines. RESULTS: A statistically significant lower pain reaction during the period of provocation was seen in deliveries close to spontaneous onset of labour compared with induced deliveries with an non-spontaneous onset of labour before 294 days (p = 0.02). Sixty-three per cent (19/30) of the women with spontaneous onset had a negative value at provocation compared with 30% (6/20) in the induced group. CONCLUSIONS: Decreased response to pain stimuli, as an indication of decreased activity in the sympathetic nervous system, has a correlation to spontaneous onset of labour in post-term pregnancies.