Seasonal variation in postnatal depression

Hiltunen, Pauliina; Jokelainen, Jari; Szajnberg, Nathan; Moilanen, Irma

doi:10.1016/s0165-0327(02)00239-2

Cited by 29 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 34 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This lower incidence of PPD during Summer is consistent with the expectation that women would be less likely to experience depression during months of abundant light. In our patients, the differences in levels of depression be- tween seasons were less than those found by Hiltunen et al 15 Because we did find that social support, parity, history of depression, and currently taking medication for depression predicted the occurrence of PPD, it is clear that any seasonal effect was not as strong an influence in our population as these other factors. Thus, physicians should screen patients carefully for PPD during all seasons of the year.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 75%

“…Our inability to detect a difference in PPD by season is probably because of one of 2 factors: there may be no seasonal variability in PPD or we had too few patients to detect variability. Our prestudy power calculation based on the seasonal variation found by Hiltunen et al 15 suggested that we would need 245 women per group to show a significant difference; we had enrolled only 149 patients during the summer and 144 during the winter. Based on this data, we would need 3 times the size of the present population to determine whether the observed difference was significant.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hiltunen et al 15 conducted a study in Finland. The EPDS was used to measure level of depression in women immediately after delivery and 4 weeks postpartum.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Is Seasonal Variation Another Risk Factor for Postpartum Depression?

Panthangi

West²,

Savoy‐Moore³

et al. 2009

The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: Postpartum depression (PPD) occurs in the first 6 months after delivery in 10% to 20% of mothers. Despite the availability of screening tools, there is a general consensus that PPD is underdiagnosed. A number of risk factors contributing to PPD have been investigated, but role of seasonal variability in PPD is unclear. Our purpose was to assess whether seasonal variation is another risk factor for PPD.Methods: This cross-sectional pilot study was conducted at 2 family medicine clinics and an obstetrics/gynecology clinic over 24 months. During their postpartum visit, mothers who gave consent were asked to fill out a survey requesting demographic data, followed by the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS). The EPDS is a well-validated tool shown to be highly effective in detecting postnatal depression. A score >12 on the EPDS indicated a likely risk of PPD.Results: Of the 556 patients approached, 530 completed the EPDS. Mean (؎SE) patient age was 24.9 ؎ 0.2 years; 71% were African Americans; 74% were single mothers; and 39% had at least some college education. On the EPDS, 17.8% scored >13. Of the depressed patients, 18.1% had babies born during the winter, 19.2% had babies born during the spring, 13.4% during the summer, and 21.5% during autumn (

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 75%

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Is Seasonal Variation Another Risk Factor for Postpartum Depression?

Panthangi

West²,

Savoy‐Moore³

et al. 2009

The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To our knowledge, our study is the first to report increased symptoms of antepartum depression in association with seasonally reduced daylight. Although investigators have reported an increased risk of postpartum depression in women whose babies were born during fall and winter months (Corral et al, 2007a; Hiltunen et al, 2004; Sylven et al, 2011; Yang et al, 2011), a large cross-sectional analysis of 67,079 births detected no significant relationship between postpartum depression and season of birth or length of daylight (Jewell et al, 2010). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antepartum Depression Severity is Increased During Seasonally Longer Nights: Relationship to Melatonin and Cortisol Timing and Quantity

Meliska

Martı́nez

López

et al. 2013

Chronobiology International

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Current research suggests that mood varies from season to season in some individuals, in conjunction with light-modulated alterations in chronobiologic indices like melatonin and cortisol. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of seasonal variations in darkness on mood in depressed antepartum women, and to determine the relationship of seasonal mood variations to contemporaneous blood melatonin and cortisol measures; a secondary aim was to evaluate the influence of seasonal factors on measures of melancholic versus atypical depressive symptoms. We obtained measures of mood and overnight concentrations of plasma melatonin and serum cortisol in 19 depressed patients (DP) and 12 healthy control (HC) antepartum women, during on-going seasonal variations in daylight/darkness, in a cross-sectional design. Analyses of variance showed that in DP, but not HC, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HRSD) scores were significantly higher in women tested during seasonally longer vs. shorter nights. This exacerbation of depressive symptoms occurred when the dim light melatonin onset, the melatonin synthesis offset and the time of maximum cortisol secretion (acrophase) were phase-advanced (temporally shifted earlier), and melatonin quantity was reduced, in DP but not HC. Serum cortisol increased across gestational weeks in both the HC and DP groups, which did not differ significantly in cortisol concentration. Nevertheless, serum cortisol concentration correlated positively with HRSD score in DP but not HC; notably, HC showed neither significant mood changes nor altered melatonin and cortisol timing or quantity in association with seasonal variations. These findings suggest that depression severity during pregnancy may become elevated in association with seasonally-related phase-advances in melatonin and cortisol timing and reduced melatonin quantity that occur in DP, but not HC. Thus, women who experience antepartum depression may be more susceptible than their non-depressed counterparts to phase alterations in melatonin and cortisol timing during seasonally longer nights. Interventions that phase delay melatonin and/or cortisol timing -- for example, increased exposure to bright evening light -- might serve as an effective intervention for antepartum depressions whose severity is increased during seasonally longer nights.

show abstract

“…[14–17] Earlier reports suggested an increased PPD risk in the autumn and decreased risk in the spring [17] and an increased odds for global seasonality in mothers with DSM-IV confirmed PPD. [16] However, others did not replicate the findings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal effects on depression risk and suicidal symptoms in postpartum women

2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most common complication of childbirth. Suicide is a leading cause of maternal death in the first postpartum year. Depressed mothers often have suicidal ideation (SI). Depression and suicidality may vary across the seasons. Previous studies of seasonality and PPD were relatively small or encumbered by study design constraints. We examined the possible relationship between seasonality, depression, and SI in 9,339 new mothers. Methods From 2006 to 2010, the investigators screened women within 4–6 weeks postpartum with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). We used spectral analysis to explore seasonal variation in risk for depression and suicidality. Results The study team screened 9,339 new mothers, of whom 1,316 (14%) women had positive depression scores (EPDS ≥ 10) which suggest PPD risk; 294 (3%) women had SI (item 10 ≥ 1). A positive EPDS was associated significantly with SI. PPD risk varied significantly across 12-months—risk was highest in December. We detected no seasonal variation in SI. Conclusions Effects of seasonal light variation may contribute to increased risk for depressive symptoms. Suicidality could be related to maternal depression but not seasonal variation.

show abstract

Seasonal variation in postnatal depression

Cited by 29 publications

References 34 publications

Is Seasonal Variation Another Risk Factor for Postpartum Depression?

Is Seasonal Variation Another Risk Factor for Postpartum Depression?

Antepartum Depression Severity is Increased During Seasonally Longer Nights: Relationship to Melatonin and Cortisol Timing and Quantity

Seasonal effects on depression risk and suicidal symptoms in postpartum women

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About