title: Lower prenatal vitamin D status and postpartum depressive symptomatology in African American women: Preliminary evidence for moderation by inflammatory cytokines.
abstract: Vitamin D deficiency and elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines have each been associated individually with postpartum depression (PPD). African American women are at increased risk for prenatal vitamin D deficiency, inflammation, and prenatal and postpartum depressive symptoms, but biological risk factors for PPD in this population have rarely been tested. This prospective study tested whether low prenatal vitamin D status (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 25[OH]D) predicted PPD symptomatology in pregnant African American women and whether high levels of prenatal inflammatory cytokines interacted with low 25(OH)D in effects on PPD symptoms. Vitamin D status was measured in the first trimester in a sample of 91 African American pregnant women who had a second trimester blood sample assayed for inflammatory markers. Depressive symptoms were assessed at a postpartum visit. An inverse association between prenatal log 25(OH)D and PPD symptomatology approached significance (β = -0.209, p = 0.058), and interleukin-6 and IL-6/IL-10 ratio significantly moderated the effect. Among women with higher levels of inflammatory markers, lower prenatal log 25(OH)D was associated with significantly higher PPD symptoms (p < 0.05). These preliminary results are intriguing because, if replicable, easy translational opportunities, such as increasing vitamin D status in pregnant women with elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines, may reduce PPD symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, 1285 Franz Hall, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1563, USA. eynav.accortt@cshs.org.|Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8635 West 3rd Street, 160 West Tower, Los Angeles, 90048, CA, USA. eynav.accortt@cshs.org.
authors.forename: Eynav Elgavish
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Accortt
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, 1285 Franz Hall, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1563, USA. dunkel@psych.ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Christine Dunkel
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Schetter
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Rosalind M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Andrea E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Cassidy-Bushrow
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D003863:Depression / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D
keywords: 25(OH)D; Cytokines; Inflammation; Postpartum depression; Pregnancy; Vitamin D