Local study finds depressive indicators in pregnancy

Local study finds depressive indicators in pregnancy
From left, Qiong Sha and Dr. Lena Brundin of VAI and Dr. Eric Achtyes and LeAnn Smart of Pine Rest. <strong> Courtesy Van Andel Institute </strong>

A recent study found signs of inflammation in the blood often can identify severe depression in pregnant women.

The study by Van Andel Institute and Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services established a set of 15 biological markers found in blood that can predict if pregnant women will experience significant depression symptoms with 83% accuracy.

Blood samples and ongoing clinical evaluations for depressive symptoms were provided by 114 volunteers in Spectrum Health’s Obstetrics and Gynecology clinics. Participants were studied throughout each trimester and during the postpartum period.

“Depression isn’t just something that happens in the brain; its fingerprints are everywhere in the body, including in our blood,” said Dr. Lena Brundin, a VAI professor and co-senior author of the study. “The ability to predict pregnancy-related depression and its severity will be a game-changer for protecting the health of mothers and their infants. Our findings are an important leap forward toward this goal.”

The findings could give physicians a tool to identify women who might be at risk for depression and help them provide better care throughout pregnancy.

“Having an objective and easily accessible method associated with depression risk, such as a blood test, provides a unique tool for helping identify women who (might) develop depression during pregnancy,” said Dr. Eric Achtyes, staff psychiatrist at Pine Rest, associate professor at Michigan State University and co-senior author of the study. “Our findings are an exciting development and an important first step toward using these types of methods more widely to help patients. Our next steps include replicating the results in additional patient samples to verify cutoffs for depression risk.”

The study, which the research partners said is the first of its kind, was published Jan. 26 in peer-reviewed medical journal Translational Psychiatry.

The full study is here.