Objective: To explore the association between postpartum depression (PPD) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) concentrations in human colostrum.
Methods: Participants were recruited from a maternal and infant cohort established in a tertiary general hospital in Guangdong Province between December, 2020 and September, 2021. In the afternoon of the second postpartum day, the women were evaluated with Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) for screening PPD (defined as a score of 10 or higher). The women with PPD were matched at a 1:1 ratio with women without PPD with maternal age difference within 5 years and the same mode of delivery. Colostrum samples were collected in morning on the third postpartum day for measurement of TGF-β concentrations using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the association between EPDS scores and TGF-β concentrations was analyzed in the two groups.
Results: A total of 90 women were included in the final analysis. The mean concentrations of TGF-β1, TGF-β2 and TGF-β3 in the colostrum were 684.03 (321.22-859.25) pg/mL, 5116.50±1747.04 pg/mL and 147.84±48.68 pg/mL in women with PPD, respectively, as compared with 745.67 (596.00-964.22) pg/mL, 4912.40±1516.80 pg/mL, and 168.21±48.15 pg/mL in women without PPD, respectively. Compared with women without PPD, the women with PPD had significantly lower concentrations of TGF-β1 (P=0.026) and TGF-β3 (P=0.049) in the colostrum. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that the EPDS scores were negatively associated with the concentrations of TGF-β1 (r=-0.23, P=0.03) and TGF-β3 (r=-0.25, P=0.02) in the colostrum.
Conclusion: PPD is associated with decreased concentrations of TGF-β1 and TGF-β3 in human colostrum, suggesting the need of early PPD screening and interventions during pregnancy and the perinatal period to minimize the impact of PPD on human milk compositions.
目的: 探究产后抑郁（PPD）与初乳转化生长因子-β（TGF-β）水平的关系。
方法: 于2020年12月~2021年9月在广东省某家三级综合医院建立的母婴队列中招募产妇。产后第2天下午，采用爱丁堡产后抑郁量表（EPDS）对产妇进行筛查，评分≥10分者为产后抑郁产妇（PPD暴露组），并按1∶1配比（年龄±5岁、分娩方式相同）正常产妇（PPD非暴露组）。产后第3天上午，采集初乳标本并采用酶联免疫法测定其TGF-β水平。分析比较两组产妇初乳TGF-β水平，并探究其与EPDS评分的相关性。
结果: 共招募90例产妇。PPD暴露组产妇初乳TGF-β1、TGF-β2及TGF-β3的水平分别为684.03（321.22，859.25）pg/mL，（5116.50±1747.04）pg/mL及（147.84±48.68）pg/mL；而PPD非暴露组产妇初乳TGF-β1、TGF-β2及TGF-β3的水平分别为745.67（596.00，964.22）pg/mL，（4912.40±1516.80）pg/mL及（168.21±48.15）pg/mL。PPD暴露组产妇初乳TGF-β1（P=0.026）和TGF-β3（P= 0.049）水平显著低于正常产妇。Spearman相关分析显示初乳TGF-β1（r=-0.23，P=0.03）及TGF-β3（r=-0.25，P=0.02）水平与EPDS评分呈负相关。
结论: 初乳TGF-β1和TGF-β3水平降低与PPD有关，提示我们应加强孕产期PPD的早期筛查与早期干预，降低其对母乳成分的影响，从而促进婴幼儿健康发育。
Keywords: Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; human colostrum; nested cohort study; postpartum depression; transforming growth factor-β.