Survey study, 2016
Do women with PMDD also have postpartum depression?
Rarely. Only about 11.7% of women with PMDD had a history of postpartum depression, suggesting these are separate conditions even though both involve mood changes.
What they did
Retrospective chart review of 215 women aged 19-51 who attended a U.S. national mental health clinic between 1988-2013 for PMDD treatment. Researchers confirmed PMDD diagnosis and reviewed psychiatric histories. They examined postpartum depression specifically in the 137 women who had at least one child.
What they found
Ninety-three women (43.3%) had a past history of mood disorder: 67 (31.2%) had major depression, 10 (4.7%) had minor depression, and 16 (7.4% overall, 11.7% of parous women) had postpartum depression. Nine of the 16 women with PMDD and past postpartum depression also had major depression or anxiety. Thirty-three women (15.3%) had past anxiety disorders. Forty women (18.6%) had past alcohol or drug abuse.
What it means for you
PMDD and postpartum depression do not frequently occur together, which suggests they may not share the same underlying cause. However, many women with PMDD do have a history of other mood disorders like depression or anxiety. The study looked only at women treated at one clinic, so results may not apply to all women with PMDD.
215
women with PMDD
16
with history of postpartum depression (11.7% of those with children)
93
with any past mood disorder (43.3%)
About the study
- Original title
- History of postpartum depression in a clinic-based sample of women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder
- Authors
- Kepple AL, Lee EE, Haq N et al.
- Journal
- The Journal of clinical psychiatry
- Year
- 2016
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 40
- What was tested
- None; medical records review
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.4088/jcp.15m09779
Topics
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