How Does Perinatal Depression Affect Women's Cardiovascular Health?

Cardiovascular disease was once thought to be a male problem and is now recognized to equally affect women. The first women-specific clinical recommendation was published by the American Heart Association in 1999, which consequently led to the promotion of preventative measures and awareness about CVD in women. However, the number of deaths due to cardiovascular disease is still increasing, with around 81% of these deaths in women occurring in lower-income countries.

What Is Perinatal Depression?

Perinatal depression, encompassing both antenatal (during pregnancy) and postpartum (following childbirth) depression, is a prevalent mental health condition that significantly impacts maternal and infant health. Emerging evidence indicates that perinatal depression not only poses immediate health risks but also has long-term implications for cardiovascular health.

Understanding the mechanisms through which perinatal depression affects cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is essential for developing effective interventions to improve outcomes for affected women.

One in five women globally experience perinatal depression.

Perinatal depression and Cardiovascular disease

Recent research suggests a complex, bidirectional relationship between perinatal depression and cardiovascular disease. This relationship is influenced by a combination of behavioural, biological, and psychosocial factors that collectively elevate the risk of cardiovascular conditions in women experiencing perinatal depression.

Longitudinal studies have found that the effect of perinatal depression on cardiovascular health can persist much beyond the perinatal period. This highlights the need for monitoring and intervention after childbirth in addition to during pregnancy.

A recent study in the European Heart Journal examined cardiovascular health following perinatal depression. They used data from approximately 6,00,000 women.

The research was led by Dr Emma Bränn and Dr Donghao Lu with their team at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. It built on previous findings that linked perinatal depression to other health issues, including premenstrual disorders, autoimmune conditions, suicidal behaviour, and premature death.

The study compared 55,539 women diagnosed with perinatal depression to 545,567 women without it. All of these women gave birth between 2001 and 2014, this data was extracted from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, which records all births in Sweden.
All these participants were monitored until 2020 for the development of cardiovascular disease.

6.4% of women with perinatal depression developed cardiovascular disease, compared to 3.7% of those without. This indicates a 36% higher risk for those with perinatal depression, the study stated.

The risk of developing CVD in individuals with high blood pressure was about 50% higher, ischemic heart disease 37% higher, and heart failure 36% higher.

Dr. Bränn, the study's senior author said, "Our findings could help identify individuals at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, allowing for preventative measures," reported India Today.