Genetic Markers Associated with Postpartum Depression: A Review

Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2024 Feb 15:20:281-293. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S434165. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common illness in mothers after childbirth. PPD negatively affect the mother's quality of life and the bond with the infant, which can interfere with the infant's emotional, social, and cognitive development. PPD is caused by various biological and psychosocial factors. The aim of this review is to summarize the latest evidence of the associations between genetic polymorphisms and PPD. PubMed and Scopus were used as the literature search databases for this review. The keywords used were postpartum depression, postnatal depression, genetic, and polymorphism. Twenty-seven articles were reviewed after screening and applying the inclusion criteria. As results, the serotonin gene (5-HTTLPR) and oxytocin genes (OXTR) have the most significant associations with PPD among other genes. Further research on PPD biomarkers should be conducted to diagnose and treat PPD patients.

Keywords: 5-HTTLPR; OXTR; biomarkers; genetic polymorphism; postpartum depression.

Publication types

  • Review

Grants and funding

This study is supported by the Academic Leadership Grant from Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia, Grant Number 1549/UN6.3.1/PT.00/2023.