Postpartum depression 7X more likely if less than 10 ng of vitamin D – Sept 2014

Association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels measured 24 hours after delivery and postpartum depression.

BJOG. 2014 Sep 19. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.13111. [Epub ahead of print]
Fu CW1, Liu JT, Tu WJ, Yang JQ, Cao Y.

OBJECTIVE:
To assess the possible relationship between serum levels of 25[OH]D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) collected 24 hours after delivery and postpartum depression in a Chinese cohort sample.

DESIGN: Cohort study.

SETTING: One city hospital in Beijing, China.

POPULATION: Women delivering a full-term, singleton, live-born infant at one city hospital in Beijing between August 2013 and November 2013.

METHODS: Women were enrolled immediately postpartum. A blood sample was obtained 24-48 hours after childbirth to test serum levels of 25[OH]D. Participation consisted of a visit to an obstetric unit 3 months after delivery.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: At 3 months' postpartum, women were screened for depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The primary outcome measure was a prespecified EPDS score of ≥12.

RESULTS: During the study period, 323 women were admitted. In all, 248 agreed to enrol and 213 completed 3 months' follow-up (21 were lost to follow-up and 14 withdrew). Of the 213 women who were included, 26 (12.2%) were considered to meet criteria for postpartum depression. Serum 25[OH]D levels in women with no postpartum depression were significantly higher than those in women with postpartum depression (P < 0.0001). Based on the receiver operating characteristic curve, the optimal cutoff value for serum 25[OH]D level as an indicator for screening for postpartum depression was estimated to be 10.2 ng/ml, with an area under the curve of 0.801 (95%CI 0.704-0.896). In multivariate analysis, there was an increased risk of postpartum depression associated with 25[OH]D levels ≤10.2 ng/ml (OR 7.17, 95%CI 3.81-12.94; P < 0.0001) after adjusting for possible confounders.

CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that lower serum 25[OH]D levels were associated with postpartum depression. This association was independent of other possible variables.
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See also VitaminDWiki

• Depression category listing has 268 items along with related searches
• postpartum depression 99 items as of Jan 2018
• An Exploratory Study of Postpartum Depression and Vitamin D - May 2010

Items tagged in both categories Depression AND Pregnancy

See also web

• Vitamin D Council description of the study
• The Secret Sadness of Pregnancy With Depression New York Times, May 2015
  "Pregnant women often fear taking the antidepressants they rely on. But not treating their mental illness can be just as dangerous."
  Emotionally moving article about depression both with and without pregancy - no mention of Vitamin D
• Association of cord blood vitamin D at delivery with postpartum depression in Australian women June 2015
  < 10 ng Vitamin D associated with postpartum depression at 6 weeks in those not taking DHA (Omega-3)
• She Asked for Help for Postpartum Depression. The Nurse Called the Cops. SLATE Jan 2018
• "Given that depression is one of the most common complications of the perinatal period, her office’s lack of standard mental health protocols is striking. "
• " One study found that women of low socioeconomic status were 11 times more likely than women with higher socioeconomic status to develop PPD."
  Her Facebook post got > 11,000 comments in 5 days

Depression before or after birth - from the web

F.D.A. Approves First Drug for Postpartum Depression New York Times March 2019
"The medication works quickly, within 48 hours. But it’s an expensive infusion and requires a stay in a medical center."
60 hours of infusion >$20,000 for just the drug. Was found to be better than a placebo