Department of Neuroscience, Unit of Pharmacology, Uppsala University, and Centre for Clinical Research Västerås, Central Hospital, BMC, POB 593, 751 24, Uppsala, Sweden.
Arch Womens Ment Health. 2011 Dec;14(6):453-63. doi: 10.1007/s00737-011-0239-x. Epub 2011 Oct 14.
Postpartum depression (PPD) is an often underdiagnosed and undertreated mood disorder, with negative impact on the mother's and infant's health. Seasonal variation has been discussed as a risk factor for PPD. Candidate genes, such as those encoding for the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), serotonin transporter (5-HTT), and Period2 (PER2), have been associated with depression and seasonal disorders. The present study is aimed to examine whether functional polymorphic variants, BDNF Val66Met, 5-HTTLPR, or PER2 SNP 10870, are associated with PPD symptoms and whether these genetic polymorphisms interact with season in predicting PPD symptoms. This case-control study comprised of 275 women from a population-based cohort of delivering women in Sweden, who completed a questionnaire containing the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) at 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum. Stressful life events (SLEs) and maternity stressors were also assessed. The results did not reveal any statistically significant overall association between the studied genetic polymorphisms and PPD symptoms. However, a significant association between BDNF Met66 carrier status and development of PPD symptoms at 6 weeks postpartum, even when controlling for prepartum and postpartum environmental risk factors, was evident among mothers delivering during autumn/winter. No gene-gene interactions were found but a cumulative effect was detected with carriers of a greater number of 5-HTTLPR S and BDNFVal66Met Met alleles reporting higher EPDS scores, if delivered during autumn/winter. Our findings propose a role of the BDNF gene in the development of PPD symptoms, potentially mediated by season of delivery.
产后抑郁症（PPD）是一种经常被漏诊和治疗不足的情绪障碍，对母亲和婴儿的健康都有负面影响。季节性变化已被讨论为 PPD 的一个风险因素。候选基因，如编码脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）、5-羟色胺转运体（5-HTT）和 Period2（PER2）的基因，与抑郁症和季节性障碍有关。本研究旨在检查功能性多态性变异，BDNF Val66Met、5-HTTLPR 或 PER2 SNP10870 是否与 PPD 症状相关，以及这些遗传多态性是否与季节相互作用来预测 PPD 症状。这项病例对照研究包括来自瑞典一个基于人群的分娩妇女队列中的 275 名妇女，她们在产后 6 周和 6 个月时完成了一份包含爱丁堡产后抑郁量表（EPDS）的问卷。还评估了应激性生活事件（SLEs）和产妇应激源。结果并未显示研究的遗传多态性与 PPD 症状之间存在任何统计学上显著的总体关联。然而，在秋季/冬季分娩的母亲中，BDNF Met66 携带者状态与产后 6 周时 PPD 症状的发展之间存在显著关联，即使在控制了产前和产后环境风险因素之后也是如此。没有发现基因-基因相互作用，但在秋季/冬季分娩的情况下，5-HTTLPR S 和 BDNFVal66Met Met 等位基因携带者携带的数量越多，EPDS 评分越高，检测到累积效应。我们的研究结果表明 BDNF 基因在 PPD 症状的发展中起作用，这可能是通过分娩季节介导的。
