Comprehensive Psychiatry
Volume 44, Issue 3 , Pages 234-246, May 2003

Endocrine factors in the etiology of postpartum depression

  • Miki Bloch

      Affiliations

    • Psychiatric Division, Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel, and the Behavioral Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
    • ,
  • Robert C Daly

      Affiliations

    • Psychiatric Division, Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel, and the Behavioral Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
    • ,
  • David R Rubinow

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress reprint requests to David R. Rubinow, 10/3N240, 10 Center Dr, Bethesda, MD 20892-1277, USA
    • Psychiatric Division, Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel, and the Behavioral Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

Abstract 

This article reviews the literature regarding endocrine factors postulated or presumed to be relevant in postpartum depression (PPD), a condition affecting at least 10% of childbearing women. The phenomenology and epidemiology of PPD are also described. Data suggest that parturition-related endocrine changes are causally implicated in PPD in a vulnerable subgroup of women. More specifically, studies by our group and others suggest a role for changes in estradiol and progesterone in precipitating mood symptoms among women with PPD. The mechanisms underlying such differential sensitivities remain undetermined. Future directions for research are explored.

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PII: S0010-440X(03)00034-8

doi:10.1016/S0010-440X(03)00034-8

Comprehensive Psychiatry
Volume 44, Issue 3 , Pages 234-246, May 2003

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