Women diagnosed with perinatal depression are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease in the following 20 years compared to women who have given birth without experiencing perinatal depression, according to research published in the European Heart Journal today (Wednesday). Perinatal depression, meaning depression during pregnancy or after birth is believed to affect one in five women giving birth worldwide. The study is the first of its kind to look at cardiovascular health after perinatal depression and included data on around 600,000 women.
It found the strongest links with risks of high blood pressure, ischemic heart disease and heart failure. The research was by Dr. Emma Bränn, Dr Donghao Lu and colleagues from the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Our research group has already found that perinatal depression is linked to an increased risk of several other health issues, including premenstrual disorders, autoimmune disorders and suicidal behavior, as well as premature death. Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death globally and there has been an ongoing discussion about including reproductive health when assessing the risk among women. We wanted to know if a history of perinatal depression could help predict cardiovascular disease risk.
" Dr. Emma Bränn, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden The study was based on the Swedish Medical Birth Register, which records all births in the country. The researchers compared 55,539 Swedish w.