POSTPARTUM DEPRESSED FEMALE

Grant Proposal for Postpartum Depressed Female

Abstract

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious mood disorder that may carry life-long consequences for a woman and her family. Multiple risk factors for PPD have been identified, encompassing psychosocial, situational, and biological stimuli, several of which are experienced by most, if not all, postpartum women. Given the commonality of these risk factors, it is unclear why fewer than 20% of postpartum women actually develop PPD. In this review, we suggest that different susceptibility to PPD amidst postpartum women may be explained by the presence or absence of genetic variants that confer increased risk. We review the categories of genes renowned to code for proteins associated with depression in the general population or proteins renowned to be influenced by childbirth for their possible association with PPD, encompassing genes related to central nervous system monoamine availability, proinflammatory cytokines, and brain neuropeptides. Only two studies are available in the literature to date specifically looking at polymorphisms in postpartum women as associated to PPD; both are concerned with monoamine availability. These are discussed in further depth.

Grant Proposal for Postpartum Depressed Female

Statement of Need

Contrary to media depictions of women with severe postpartum depression who harm their children, most women with postpartum depression experience symptoms of mild to moderate severity that readily respond to treatment. It is well established that depression generally results from a combination of vulnerability factors (e.g., genetics, pessimistic cognitive style) and stressful life events; examination of depression in the postpartum period provides an opportunity to consider the manner in which vulnerability factors put women at risk for experiencing depression in the context of a discrete, clearly defined stressor (Miller, 2002).

Project description

The grant proposal for postpartum depression female is readily identified in the research literature and in the media, there is no official diagnosis of postpartum depression per se. Instead, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) indicates that women are assigned a diagnosis of major depressive disorder with postpartum onset if they meet criteria for a major depressive episode within the first 4 weeks following childbirth. A diagnosis of major depressive disorder requires that individuals endorse at least five of the following symptoms: depressed mood, lack of interest or enjoyment in activities, appetite disturbance, sleep disturbance, fatigue, worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, concentration difficulties or indecisiveness, and suicidal ideation. These symptoms must occur more days than not over at least a 2-week period and cause life interference or significant personal distress. Although this is the definition that mental health practitioners use for diagnosing postpartum depression in their clinical practice, some researchers have defined postpartum depression as being either a major or minor depressive episode (i.e., consisting of fewer than five of these symptoms) following childbirth. It also is important for clinicians who diagnose postpartum depression to realize that many features of normal adjustment (e.g., sleep deprivation) overlap with symptoms of depression. Thus, such symptoms should be regarded as indicative of postpartum depression only if they are in excess of what is considered ...