The role of prepulse inhibition in predicting new-onset postpartum depression

Abstract

Predictive measures for postpartum depression (PPD), which affects around 12% of childbearing women, would enable early, targeted support. Here we explore prepulse inhibition (PPI), a measure of sensorimotor processing, as a biological tool for prediction of women at risk for PPD. Using data from the longitudinal BASIC study in Uppsala, Sweden, we used PPI measures from late pregnancy and reports on depressive symptoms assessed 6 weeks postpartum with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale to determine the association between pregnancy PPI and PPD. Lower PPI was associated with PPD onset in women who were not depressed during pregnancy. Further studies are encouraged to validate these promising results suggesting PPI as a predictive marker of new-onset PPD. In this study the authors investigate whether prepulse inhibition, measured in late pregnancy, could predict depressive symptom status at 6 weeks postpartum.