title: Lower allopregnanolone during pregnancy predicts postpartum depression: An exploratory study.
abstract: Current evidence is mixed on the role of progesterone and its metabolites in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. We measured second and third trimester (T2 and T3) progesterone (PROG) and allopregnanolone (ALLO) levels by ELISA and postpartum depression (PPD) by clinician interview (DSM-IV criteria) in 60 pregnant women with a prior diagnosis of a mood disorder. Methods included multivariate and logistic regression with general linear mixed effect models. We found that, after adjustment, every additional ng/mL of T2 ALLO resulted in a 63% (95% CI 13% to 84%, p=0.022) reduction in the risk of developing PPD. Our findings extend previous work connecting ALLO and depression within pregnancy, and indicate that the relationship between pregnancy ALLO and PPD is worth further exploration in a larger sample.
authors.affiliation: Women's Mood Disorders Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States. Electronic address: lmosborne@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Lauren M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Osborne
authors.affiliation: Women's Mood Disorders Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gispen
authors.affiliation: Women's Mood Disorders Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States.
authors.forename: Abanti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sanyal
authors.affiliation: Women's Mood Disorders Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States.
authors.forename: Gayane
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yenokyan
authors.affiliation: Women's Mood Disorders Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meilman
authors.affiliation: Women's Mood Disorders Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Payne
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third / Q000097:blood; D011280:Pregnanolone / Q000097:blood*; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D011374:Progesterone; D011280:Pregnanolone
keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Hormones; Postpartum; Pregnancy; Reproductive