Am J Psychiatry 1987; 144:288-293
Copyright © 1987 by American Psychiatric Association
Pregnancy-related affective episodes among women with recurrent depression
E Frank, DJ Kupfer, M Jacob, SJ Blumenthal and DB Jarrett
The authors examined 52 women with recurrent depression to determine the
differences between women with and without histories of pregnancy- related
affective episodes. The women with histories of such episodes (N = 24) had
been significantly younger at illness onset, were more severely depressed
at baseline, and tended to show less emotional stability. The EEG-recorded
sleep of the women with pregnancy-related affective episodes was
distinguished by longer REM sleep time and more REM activity, differences
accounted for almost entirely by the women with histories of only
postpartum episodes.
