Salivary cortisol during memory encoding in pregnancy predicts postpartum depressive symptoms: a longitudinal study

Abstract Introduction Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common disorder that substantially decreases quality of life for both mother and child. In this longitudinal study, we investigated whether emotional memory, salivary cortisol (sCORT) or alpha-amylase during pregnancy predict postpartum depressive symptoms. Methods Forty-four pregnant women (14 euthymic women with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder [MDD] and 30 healthy women) between the ages of 19 and 37 years (mean age = 29.5±4.1 years) were longitudinally assessed in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy (12-22 weeks of gestational age) and again at 14-17 weeks postpartum. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Results Follow-ups were completed for 41 women (7% attrition). Postpartum EPDS scores were predicted by sCORT collected immediately after an incidental encoding memory task during pregnancy (b=-0.78, t -2.14, p=0.04). Postpartum EPDS scores were not predicted by positive (p=0.27) or negative (p=0.85) emotional memory. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that higher levels of sCORT during a memory encoding task in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy are associated with lower postpartum EPDS scores. While the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has long been associated with the neurobiology of MDD, the role of the HPA axis in perinatal depression deserves more attention.

Salivary cortisol during memory encoding in pregnancy predicts postpartum depressive symptoms: a longitudinal study Journal Articles