Blood tests can predict postpartum depression before a baby arrives

A new study suggests that specific molecular changes during pregnancy may predict which women experience postpartum depression, opening the door to early intervention before symptoms begin. These findings can revolutionize maternal mental health care by providing preventive treatment to the most risky person.

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and Will Cornell University Medicine found that pregnant women who later suffered from postpartum depression showed different patterns in certain hormone-derived molecules during their third pregnancy, especially in the case of Neuroactive steroids in compounds.

“Postpartum is the only biological trigger in a life that guarantees a certain percentage of people will get sick,” said Dr. Weill Cornell Medicine, co-leader of the study. “If we can unravel this biology and find predictors for it, we will not only help women, but also enable us to improve the predictors of trying to find other psychiatric disorders.”

The study, published in neuropsychopharmacology, tracked 136 pregnant women through its second and third three pregnant women. Of these participants, 33 developed postpartum depression after birth. By analyzing blood samples, the team identified specific molecular patterns that distinguished people who later suffered from depression from those who did not.

The study focused on two key compounds: pregnancy that helps reduce stress and isomethanolone, thereby increasing stress response. Women with postpartum depression have lower levels of decompression compounds relative to their precursors, as well as higher stress increase molecules.

“Studying postpartum depression provides us with a way to identify biological changes that occur before someone becomes depressed because of postpartum depression The timing is predictable.”

The implications of this study go beyond predictions. Current treatments for postpartum depression, including the drugs methanol and suranodone, may be preventively used in women at high risk identified by blood tests.

Given that postpartum depression affects 10 to 15% of new mothers, this study should be particularly urgent. Unlike many experiences of temporary “baby blues”, postpartum depression can last for many years and has a profound impact on mother and child. The disease may manifest as persistent sadness, overwhelming anxiety, despair and difficulty in tying with the baby.

The findings of the study suggest that imbalances in how the body handles progesterone, a hormone that is essential for pregnancy, may lead to the risk of postpartum depression. In the second trimester, researchers observed that women who later developed depression showed a characteristic pattern in how their bodies metabolize the hormone.

The research team now plans to validate its results among larger, more diverse women. Their ultimate goal is to develop a clinical test that can be used routinely during pregnancy to identify people at the highest risk of postpartum depression.

These findings represent an important step in maternal mental health care. By potentially achieving early identification of high-risk women, this study could help healthcare providers intervene before symptoms develop, thus preventing the devastating effects of postpartum depression on mothers and their children.

This early intervention may be transformative, as postpartum depression is currently the leading cause of pregnancy-related death. Research shows that without treatment, the condition may last up to 11 years after delivery, affecting not only the well-being of maternal mothers, but also the development of children, including on IQ, language development and increased rates of mental illness in children. .

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, including contributions from researchers Semra Etyemez, Graziano Pinna, Rebecca Alemani, Lindsay R. Standeven, and Xin-Qun Wang. Osborne and Payne.