Family history of mental illness almost doubles risk of postpartum depression

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-08-18 01:00

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Danish scientists brought together the data from 26 previous studies spanning 18 countries, including two Australian studies and a grand total of nearly 101,000 women, and say mothers with a family history of any psychiatric disorder have an almost doubled risk of developing postpartum depression (PPD), compared with mothers with no family history of mental illness. The team says this is probably due to both genetic and environmental factors during upbringing and later in life. Among the general population, the incidence of PPD is around 15%, and with a family history of mental illness, this rises to around 30%. Identifying women with a family history of mental illness early in pregnancy would help enable timely and targeted preventive initiatives, the researchers conclude.

Media release

From: JAMA

Examining Family History of Psychiatric Disorders as Risk Factor for Postpartum Depression

About The Study: In this systematic review and meta-analysis comprising 26 studies from five continents totaling more than 100,000 women, the risk of developing postpartum depression was almost twice as high among mothers who had a family history of psychiatric disorders compared with mothers without a family history.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Psychiatry

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Aarhus University, Denmark

Funder: Ms Zacher Kjeldsen is supported by The Lundbeck Foundation (R313-2019-569). Dr Bricca is a postdoctoral researcher in the MOBILIZE project funded by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant agreement 801790). Dr Liu is supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie (grant agreement 891079). Dr Munk-Olsen has received support from The Lundbeck Foundation (R313-2019-569).

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