Women With Autoimmune Diseases at Higher Risk of Postpartum Depression

Researchers have uncovered a unique link between the immune system and postpartum and perinatal depression. Published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, a new study evaluated data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register and found women with autoimmune diseases to be 30% more likely to experience perinatal or postpartum depression (PPD).

Scientists reviewed the data on all women who had given birth in Sweden between 2001 and 2013. There were approximately 815,000 women and 1.3 million pregnancies. During pregnancy or within a year of delivery, 55,299 women had been diagnosed with PPD.

Using this information the researchers then looked at the incidence of 41 autoimmune diseases with and without PPD. Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks cells and organs. Examples include rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and type 1 diabetes.

Overall the scientists found not only a one-way link between autoimmune diseases and an increased risk of PPD but an connection between women with PPD later developing autoimmune diseases. Women with PPD were 30% more likely to develop a subsequent autoimmune disease. The risk strongest was strongest for multiple sclerosis—doubled in both directions. The link between autoimmune disease and PPD was also strongest in women who didn’t previously have a mental health diagnosis.

Referred to as a bidirectional link, this mutual relationship doesn’t mean that having one condition necessarily precedes the other but they do seem to be correlated or connected in some way. “Our study suggests that there’s an immunological mechanism behind perinatal depression and that autoimmune diseases should be seen as a risk factor for this kind of depression,” Emma Bränn, researcher at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet, said in a statement. She emphasized that the study only found a link, but not cause and effect.

While there is still more work to be done, clincians believe information from this study could be helpful when developing screenings and risk assessments so these diseases or PPD could be caught earlier on.

“Depression during this sensitive period can have serious consequences for both the mother and the baby,” says Dr Bränn. “We hope that our results will help decision-makers to steer funding towards maternal healthcare so that more women can get help and support in time.”

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