Salivary cortisol during memory encoding in pregnancy predicts postpartum depressive symptoms: a longitudinal study

Area of Science:

• Perinatal mental health
• Neuroendocrinology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Postpartum depression (PPD) significantly impacts maternal and infant well-being.
• Understanding predictive factors for PPD is crucial for early intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if emotional memory, salivary cortisol (sCORT), or alpha-amylase during pregnancy predict postpartum depressive symptoms.
• To explore the role of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in perinatal depression.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study of 44 pregnant women (including those with major depressive disorder [MDD] and healthy controls).
• Assessment in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy and 14-17 weeks postpartum.
• Measures included emotional memory tasks, salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase, and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).

Main Results:

• Higher salivary cortisol (sCORT) during a memory encoding task in the 2nd trimester predicted lower postpartum EPDS scores (p=0.04).
• Emotional memory (positive or negative) did not predict postpartum depressive symptoms.

Conclusions:

• Elevated sCORT during pregnancy memory encoding is associated with reduced postpartum depressive symptoms.
• The HPA axis warrants further investigation in the context of perinatal depression.