Serum cholesterol decline and depression in the postpartum period

We examined the relation between total serum cholesterol decline and depression in the postpartum period in a prospective study of 266 Dutch women, who were followed until 34 weeks after delivery. The decline in serum cholesterol between week 32 of pregnancy and week 10 postpartum was similar for women who became depressed (n = 63) in the subsequent period and women who did not (difference, 0.10 mmol/l; 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.16 to 0.37). Adjusting for age, multiparity, education level, smoking status, concurrent illness, and social support, the odds ratio of depression was 1.4 (95% CI, 0.64 to 2.9) for women in the highest tertile of serum cholesterol decline and 0.61 (95% CI, 0.28 to 1.3) for women in the intermediate tertile, as compared with women in the lowest tertile. Our results do not support the hypothesis that rapid serum cholesterol decline increases risk of depression in the postpartum period.