Women with diabetes twice as likely to suffer depression during pregnancy

A team from Harvard Medical School studied over 11,000 women who gave birth between July 2004 and September 2006.

They found that 15% of the women with diabetes had a diagnosis of depression, or took antidepressant medication, during the perinatal period compared to only 8% of those without diabetes.

Additionally, the researchers found that almost 10% of the women with diabetes experienced new onset depression after giving birth, compared to just 6% of those without.

The authors said: ‘Treatable, perinatal depression is under diagnosed and it is important to target detection and support efforts toward women at high-risk.’

Journal of the American Medical Association (2009) 301: 842-847

• Related article: Hormone levels mid-pregnancy could provide a test for post-natal depression risk

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