title: Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentrations in pregnant women with post-traumatic stress disorder and comorbid depression.
abstract: There is accumulating evidence for the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the pathophysiology of depression. However, the role of BDNF in the pathophysiology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains controversial, and no study has assessed BDNF concentrations among pregnant women with PTSD. We examined early-pregnancy BDNF concentrations among women with PTSD with and without depression. A total of 2928 women attending prenatal care clinics in Lima, Peru, were recruited. Antepartum PTSD and depression were evaluated using PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scales, respectively. BDNF concentrations were measured in a subset of the cohort (N = 944) using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Logistic regression procedures were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI). Antepartum PTSD (37.4 %) and depression (27.6 %) were prevalent in this cohort of low-income pregnant Peruvian women. Approximately 19.9 % of participants had comorbid PTSD-depression. Median serum BDNF concentrations were lower among women with comorbid PTSD-depression as compared with women without either condition (median [interquartile range], 20.44 [16.97-24.30] vs. 21.35 [17.33-26.01] ng/ml; P = 0.06). Compared to the referent group (those without PTSD and depression), women with comorbid PTSD-depression were 1.52-fold more likely to have low (<25.38 ng/ml) BDNF concentrations (OR = 1.52; 95 % CI 1.00-2.31). We observed no evidence of reduced BDNF concentrations among women with isolated PTSD. BDNF concentrations in early pregnancy were only minimally and non-significantly reduced among women with antepartum PTSD. Reductions in BDNF concentrations were more pronounced among women with comorbid PTSD-depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, K505F, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.|Institute of Reproductive and Child Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, K505F, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. bgelaye@hsph.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Bizu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gelaye
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, K505F, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Qiuyue
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Cayetano Heredia Peruvian University, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Marta B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Rondon
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima, Peru.|Asociación Civil PROESA, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Sixto E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, K505F, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Michelle A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010568:Peru / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
keywords: Antepartum PTSD; Antepartum depression; BDNF; Biomarker; Peru