ArticleBrain, behavior, & immunity - health2021
Are alterations in estradiol, cortisol, and inflammatory cytokines associated with depression during pregnancy and postpartum? An exploratory study.
Article in Brain, behavior, & immunity - health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- ADHD and Sex Hormones in Females: A Systematic Review.Journal of attention disorders · 2025Pooled it
- Examining the association between prenatal inflammation and postpartum depression in a large, prospective pregnancy cohort in New York City.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2026Article
- Advances in Perinatal Depression: A Focus on Screening and Treatment.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Screening for individuals with postpartum depression by an attenuated and delayed niacin skin flushing response: a case control study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Tracking inflammation status for improving patient prognosis: A review of current methods, unmet clinical needs and opportunities.Biotechnology advances · 2025Review
- Targeted Research and Treatment Implications in Women With Depression.Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing) · 2025Review
- Peripartum buprenorphine and oxycodone exposure impair maternal behavior and increase neuroinflammation in new mother rats.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2025Article
- Unraveling the Triad: A Bioinformatics Analysis of the Interplay between Prenatal Depression, Inflammation, and the Gut Microbiota.CNS & neurological disorders drug targets · 2025Article
- The pathophysiology of estrogen in perinatal depression: conceptual update.Archives of women's mental health · 2024Review
- Considering the role of estradiol in the psychoneuroimmunology of perimenopausal depression.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2024Article
- The Antidepressant Drug Amitriptyline Affects Human SH-SY5Y Neuroblastoma Cell Proliferation and Modulates Autophagy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Selenium Intake and Postnatal Depression-A Short Review.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Association of pica with cortisol and inflammation among Latina pregnant women.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2024Article
- Environmental enrichment attenuates depressive-like behavior in maternal rats by inhibiting neuroinflammation and apoptosis and promoting neuroplasticity.Neurobiology of stress · 2024Article
- Biomarkers of Postpartum Depression: A Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Is There an Inflammatory Profile of Perinatal Depression?Current psychiatry reports · 2023Review
- Editorial commentary on the special issue emerging psychoneuroimmunology research: Future leaders in focus.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2022Article
- Inflammatory pathophysiological mechanisms implicated in postpartum depression.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPregnant veterans are a subpopulation known to be at elevated risk of developing mental health symptoms, such as depression and suicidal ideation. Inflammation has been associated with depression, specifically during the perinatal period. Critical changes in estradiol, cortisol, and inflammatory cytokines are necessary for the progression of a healthy pregnancy, which are then rapidly altered in the postpartum period. We explored changes in estradiol, cortisol, and pro-inflammatory cytokines relative to depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts across pregnancy and postpartum in this pilot and feasibility study.
methodsWe measured estradiol, cortisol, and the inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IFN-γ, and TNF-α in 18 pregnant veterans and analyzed the data using descriptive statistics, dependent t-tests, and correlation analyses. We assessed depression severity with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and suicidality with the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale. Thirteen of the women repeated assessments in the early postpartum period at an average of 6.7 weeks after birth.
resultsAs anticipated, estradiol (
conclusionThis preliminary study suggests the feasibility of our approach for exploring a complex interplay between hormonal and pro-inflammatory changes from pregnancy to postpartum, and their relationship with depressive symptoms. Given our small sample and the relatively exploratory nature of our analyses, additional investigation focusing on hormonal and inflammatory changes and their potential associations with perinatal mental health is necessary to confirm and extend our preliminary findings and examine additional potential covariates.
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