Trial reportArchives of women's mental health2020
Transdermal estradiol for postpartum depression: results from a pilot randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
Trial report in Archives of women's mental health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative efficacy and acceptability of pharmacotherapies for postpartum depression: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of acute estradiol and progesterone on perimenstrual exacerbation of suicidal ideation and related symptoms: a crossover randomized controlled trial.Translational psychiatry · 2022Trial
- The short-term effects of estradiol, raloxifene, and a phytoestrogen in women with perimenopausal depression.Menopause (New York, N.Y.) · 2021Trial
- Comparative Efficacy of Interventions for the Prevention and Treatment of Postpartum Depression: A Bayesian Network Meta-analysis.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Physiological Mechanisms in Pregnancy and Their Relevance to the Clinical Management of Perinatal Mental Illness.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Research advances on estrogen deficiency leading to depression.Translational neuroscience · 2026Review
- Perinatal Depression: Current Knowledge.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- The link between sex hormones and depression over a woman's lifespan (Review).Biomedical reports · 2025Review
- Supplementary approaches to perinatal depression: a review of pathogenesis, herbal interventions, and dietary supplements.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Review
- The pathophysiology of estrogen in perinatal depression: conceptual update.Archives of women's mental health · 2024Review
- Bridging Neurobiological Insights and Clinical Biomarkers in Postpartum Depression: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Endocrinological Treatment Targets for Depressive Disorder.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024Review
- Current pharmacotherapy approaches and novel GABAergic antidepressant development in postpartum depression.Dialogues in clinical neuroscience · 2023Review
- Advances in pharmacotherapy for postpartum depression: a structured review of standard-of-care antidepressants and novel neuroactive steroid antidepressants.Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2022Review
- Article
- Progesterone, reproduction, and psychiatric illness.Best practice & research. Clinical obstetrics & gynaecology · 2020Review
- Is Postpartum Depression Different From Depression Occurring Outside of the Perinatal Period? A Review of the Evidence.Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing) · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common complication following delivery, though evidence-based treatment options are limited. This study explores the feasibility and efficacy of outpatient PPD treatment with transdermal estradiol (TE). In a pilot, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, women with PPD were randomized to receive transdermal 17β-estradiol (100 mcg/day) or placebo patch. Over 6 weeks, women completed weekly ratings on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D). Primary outcome measures were treatment response (> 50% decrease from baseline BDI) and remission (BDI < 10) at 6 weeks, and secondary outcome measures included severity on all scales at weeks 3 and 6. Of 12 recruited women, 6 received TE and 6 received placebo. By week 6, 5 women receiving TE responded to treatment and 4 showed symptom remission, compared to 2 responders and 1 remitter in the placebo group. This difference was not significant (p = 0.24). In a mixed-model of BDI ratings, TE was associated with a 9.2 point decrease at 3 weeks (95%CI - 19.5 to + 1.0, p = 0.074) and a 10.5 point decrease at 6 weeks (95%CI - 21.0-0.0, p = 0.049) compared to placebo, though these differences did not survive multiple comparisons correction. Analogous effects were found for HAM-D but not EPDS scores. Interestingly, no significant difference in plasma estradiol levels existed between groups. We were unable to demonstrate a significant therapeutic benefit of TE compared with placebo in PPD. Although limited by under-recruitment and loss to follow-up, our results suggest TE is a feasible option for outpatient PPD management, with preliminary evidence (based on secondary outcomes) for efficacy. Therapeutic effects may be seen as early as 3 weeks and may not directly depend on peripheral measures of estradiol.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.