Am J Psychiatry 1989; 146:1413-1422
Copyright © 1989 by American Psychiatric Association
Psychiatric syndromes linked to reproductive function in women: a review of current knowledge
MJ Gitlin and RO Pasnau
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine 90024.
Four psychiatric syndromes related to reproductive function in women have
been identified: postpartum depression, premenstrual syndrome (PMS),
post-hysterectomy depression, and involutional melancholia. The authors
review what is known about these syndromes and conclude, first, that
postpartum depression comprises three separate syndromes, the most severe
of which is most likely a variant of primary affective disorder. Second,
research into the syndromal nature, biology, and treatment of PMS is still
in its infancy due to a variety of methodological difficulties. Third, the
rate of depression among women during the involutional period or following
hysterectomy for benign pathology is not higher than it is at other times.
