Postpartum depression risk higher among women with female first-degree relative with PPD history

A new study conducted by Marie-Louise H. and team found that there is no significant hereditary characteristic as a primary cause of postpartum depression in families with no previous psychiatric history. The findings of this study were published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica.

Postpartum depression (PPD) affects 5-15% of all women who give birth. Many mental illnesses exhibit significant family aggregation as well as co-aggregation. Diseases such as severe depression, generalized anxiety disorder, attention deficit disorder, autistic spectrum disorder, and schizophrenia have all been related to probable hereditary features in investigations of genetic variations. As a result, this study was carried out in order to evaluate the familial aggregation of PPD in women with no previous history, using a countrywide cohort design that allowed us to investigate how PPD history across both female blood and non-blood family members was connected with the risk of PPD in index women depending on the kind of family relation.

Researchers created a cohort containing information on 848,544 singleton births using Danish national records (1996–2017). Women with PPD were characterized as having taken antidepressant medication and/or visiting a hospital for depression within 6 months after giving birth. Those who had a mental history prior to delivery were barred. We calculated the relative risk (RR) of PPD by comparing women with female relatives who had and had not history of PPD.

The key findings of this study were:

1. Overall, women having a history of PPD in female blood relations were at a greater risk of developing PPD.

2. Having a first-degree female relative with a history of PPD was linked to a more than 2.5-fold greater risk of PPD.

3. However, having a second/third-degree female relative and/or a female non-blood relative with a history of PPD did not raise the woman's chance of developing the disease.

The findings do not support a genetic characteristic as the primary cause of isolated PPD. Other potential explanations for this and prior reported connections among close family members include the influence of shared environmental and/or health-seeking behavior in extremely close relationships. 

Reference: 

Rasmussen, M. H., Poulsen, G. J., Wohlfahrt, J., Videbech, P., & Melbye, M. (2022). Familial risk of postpartum depression. In Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica (Vol. 146, Issue 4, pp. 340–349). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.13465