Weekly Roundup for MAY 21, 2021: Recent Publications in Women’s Mental Health

Edvinsson Å, Hellgren C, Kunovac Kallak T, Åkerud H, Skalkidou A, Stener-Victorin E, Fornes R, Spigset O, Lager S, Olivier J, Sundström-Poromaa I.

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2019 Dec 5;19(1):479. Free article.

This study compared placental gene and protein expression in healthy women, women with untreated antenatal depression and women on antidepressant treatment during pregnancy.  Nominally significant findings were noted for HTR1A (which codes for G-protein coupled receptor for serotonin)and NPY2R (which codes for a neuropeptide Y receptor), where women with untreated depression displayed higher gene expression than healthy controls (p < 0.05), whereas women on antidepressant treatment had similar expression as healthy controls.

Universal prevention of distress aimed at pregnant women: a systematic review and meta-analysis of psychological interventions.

Missler M, Donker T, Beijers R, Ciharova M, Moyse C, de Vries R, Denissen J, van Straten A.  BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2021 Apr 1;21(1):276. Free article.

Overall, ten studies included depression as an outcome measure, five studies included stress, and four studies anxiety. There was a moderate effect of preventive interventions implemented during pregnancy on the combined measure of maternal distress (d = .52), on depressive symptoms (d = .50), and on stress (d = .52). The effect on anxiety (d = .30) was smaller.

I’ll catch you when you fall: Social safety nets and housing instability in IPV-exposed pregnant women.

Miller-Graff L, et al. J Affect Disord, May 2021.

Social support was directly related to lower levels of depressed mood and posttraumatic stress in IPV-exposed women. 

Solomon DH, et al. BMJ Open 2021;11:e045074.

Women who initiated sleep medications rated their sleep disturbances similar after 1 and 2?years of treatment.

Pharmacologic and hormonal treatments for menopausal sleep disturbances: A network meta-analysis of 43 randomized controlled trials and 32,271 menopausal women.

Cheng YS, Tseng PT, Wu MK, Tu YK, Wu YC, Li DJ, Chen TY, Su KP, Stubbs B, Carvalho AF, Lin PY, Matsuoka YJ, Chen YW, Sun CK, Shiue YL.  Sleep Med Rev. 2021 Mar 11;57:101469. 

The results support combined estrogen-progesterone therapy for menopausal sleep disturbances associated with vasomotor symptoms but showed no significant effects of hypnotics in this clinical setting.

The short-term effects of estradiol, raloxifene, and a phytoestrogen in women with perimenopausal depression.

Schmidt PJ, Wei SM, Martinez PE, Dor RRB, Guerrieri GM, Palladino PP, Harsh VL, Li HJ, Wakim P, Nieman LK, Rubinow DR.  Menopause. 2021 Jan 15;28(4):369-383.

This study did not identify significant therapeutic benefits of transdermal estradiol, the phytoestrogen Rimostil, or raloxifene compared with placebo in perimenopausal depression.