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Review
. 2022 Mar 29;15(1):6.
doi: 10.1186/s13044-022-00124-6.

Postpartum depression in maternal thyroidal changes

Paula Michele da Silva Schmidt  1 , Aline Longoni  1 , Ricardo Tavares Pinheiro  1 , Adriano Martimbianco de Assis  2
Affiliations
Review

Postpartum depression in maternal thyroidal changes

Paula Michele da Silva Schmidt et al. Thyroid Res. .

Abstract

Evidence in the literature has suggested that there may be an association between thyroid antibodies and depression during pregnancy and in the postpartum period. Thus, this study aims to conduct a systematic review on the prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) in women with thyroid abnormalities during pregnancy or in the postpartum period. For this review, we used four databases (PubMed, Lilacs, Scielo, and Scopus). Fifteen studies were selected; one study used a case-control design, four used a cross-sectional design and ten utilized prospective cohort designs. All studies were restricted to up to 1 year postpartum, and 46.7% focused on a period between immediate postpartum and 6 months postpartum. Estimates of the prevalence of PPD in pregnant women with thyroid disorders ranged between 8.3% and 36.0%. For follow-up studies, the cumulative incidence of self-reported depression from the primary episode in the first postpartum year was 6.3% in a high-city survey. Although some authors consider the status of positive anti-TPO antibodies to be a possible marker of vulnerability to depression , it is not yet possible to conclude whether thyroid function in the pregnancy-puerperal cycle is involved with the development of PPD.

Keywords: Perinatal depression; Postpartum depression; Pregnancy; Thyroid; Thyroid peroxidase antibodies.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart analysis of the articles selected in the PubMed, LILACS, Scielo and Scopus databases (January 24, 2022)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Our main finding is that there is no definition in the literature about the function of the thyroid gland and the development of PPD in pregnant/puerperal women. However, most studies that showed a relationship between PPD and thyroid function suggest that thyroperoxidase antibodies (anti-TPO) may be a possible target in the search for a biomarker to predict the development of PPD
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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