TY - JOUR A1 - Kittel-Schneider, Sarah A1 - Felice, Ethel A1 - Buhagiar, Rachel A1 - Lambregtse-van den Berg, Mijke A1 - Wilson, Claire A. A1 - Banjac Baljak, Visnja A1 - Vujovic, Katarina Savic A1 - Medic, Branislava A1 - Opankovic, Ana A1 - Fonseca, Ana A1 - Lupattelli, Angela T1 - Treatment of peripartum depression with antidepressants and other psychotropic medications: a synthesis of clinical practice guidelines in Europe JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health N2 - This study examined (1) the availability and content of national CPGs for treatment of peripartum depression, including comorbid anxiety, with antidepressants and other psychotropics across Europe and (2) antidepressant and other psychotropic utilization data as an indicator of prescribers' compliance to the guidelines. We conducted a search using Medline and the Guidelines International Network database, combined with direct e-mail contact with national Riseup-PPD COST ACTION members and researchers within psychiatry. Of the 48 European countries examined, we screened 41 records and included 14 of them for full-text evaluation. After exclusion of ineligible and duplicate records, we included 12 CPGs. Multiple CPGs recommend antidepressant initiation or continuation based on maternal disease severity, non-response to first-line non-pharmacological interventions, and after risk-benefit assessment. Advice on treatment of comorbid anxiety is largely missing or unspecific. Antidepressant dispensing data suggest general prescribers' compliance with the preferred substances of the CPG, although country-specific differences were noted. To conclude, there is an urgent need for harmonized, up-to-date CPGs for pharmacological management of peripartum depression and comorbid anxiety in Europe. The recommendations need to be informed by the latest available evidence so that healthcare providers and women can make informed, evidence-based decisions about treatment choices. KW - clinical practice guideline KW - depression KW - anxiety KW - antidepressant KW - psychotropic medications KW - peripartum Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-262130 SN - 1660-4601 VL - 19 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hübner, Theresa A1 - Wolfgang, Tanja A1 - Theis, Ann-Catrin A1 - Steber, Magdalena A1 - Wiedenmann, Lea A1 - Wöckel, Achim A1 - Diessner, Joachim A1 - Hein, Grit A1 - Gründahl, Marthe A1 - Kämmerer, Ulrike A1 - Kittel-Schneider, Sarah A1 - Bartmann, Catharina T1 - The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stress and other psychological factors in pregnant women giving birth during the first wave of the pandemic JF - Reproductive Health N2 - Background The onset of mental illness such as depression and anxiety disorders in pregnancy and postpartum period is common. The coronavirus induced disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the resulting public policy responses represent an exceptional situation worldwide and there are hints for adverse psychosocial impact, hence, the study of psychological effects of the pandemic in women during hospitalization for delivery and in the postpartum period is highly relevant. Methods Patients who gave birth during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany (March to June 2020) at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Würzburg, Germany, were recruited at hospital admission for delivery. Biosamples were collected for analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and various stress hormones and interleukin-6 (IL-6). In addition to sociodemographic and medical obstetric data, survey questionnaires in relation to concerns about and fear of COVID-19, depression, stress, anxiety, loneliness, maternal self-efficacy and the mother–child bonding were administered at T1 (delivery stay) and T2 (3–6 months postpartum). Results In total, all 94 recruited patients had a moderate concern of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) at T1 with a significant rise at T2. This concern correlated with low to low-medium general psychosocial stress levels and stress symptoms, and the women showed a significant increase of active coping from T1 to T2. Anxiety levels were low and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale showed a medium score of 5 with a significant (T1), but only week correlation with the concerns about SARS-CoV-2. In contrast to the overall good maternal bonding without correlation to SARS-CoV-2 concern, the maternal self-efficiency correlated negatively with the obstetric impairment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion Obstetric patients` concerns regarding SARS-CoV-2 and the accompanying pandemic increased during the course of the pandemic correlating positively with stress and depression. Of note is the increase in active coping over time and the overall good mother–child-bonding. Maternal self-efficacy was affected in part by the restrictions of the pandemic. KW - Covid-19 KW - stress KW - pregnancy Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300189 VL - 19 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Janson, Patrick A1 - Willeke, Kristina A1 - Zaibert, Lisa A1 - Budnick, Andrea A1 - Berghöfer, Anne A1 - Kittel-Schneider, Sarah A1 - Heuschmann, Peter U. A1 - Zapf, Andreas A1 - Wildner, Manfred A1 - Stupp, Carolin A1 - Keil, Thomas T1 - Mortality, morbidity and health-related outcomes in informal caregivers compared to non-caregivers: a systematic review JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health N2 - A systematic overview of mental and physical disorders of informal caregivers based on population-based studies with good methodological quality is lacking. Therefore, our aim was to systematically summarize mortality, incidence, and prevalence estimates of chronic diseases in informal caregivers compared to non-caregivers. Following PRISMA recommendations, we searched major healthcare databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE and Web of Science) systematically for relevant studies published in the last 10 years (without language restrictions) (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020200314). We included only observational cross-sectional and cohort studies with low risk of bias (risk scores 0–2 out of max 8) that reported the prevalence, incidence, odds ratio (OR), hazard ratio (HR), mean- or sum-scores for health-related outcomes in informal caregivers and non-caregivers. For a thorough methodological quality assessment, we used a validated checklist. The synthesis of the results was conducted by grouping outcomes. We included 22 studies, which came predominately from the USA and Europe. Informal caregivers had a significantly lower mortality than non-caregivers. Regarding chronic morbidity outcomes, the results from a large longitudinal German health-insurance evaluation showed increased and statistically significant incidences of severe stress, adjustment disorders, depression, diseases of the spine and pain conditions among informal caregivers compared to non-caregivers. In cross-sectional evaluations, informal caregiving seemed to be associated with a higher occurrence of depression and of anxiety (ranging from 4 to 51% and 2 to 38%, respectively), pain, hypertension, diabetes and reduced quality of life. Results from our systematic review suggest that informal caregiving may be associated with several mental and physical disorders. However, these results need to be interpreted with caution, as the cross-sectional studies cannot determine temporal relationships. The lower mortality rates compared to non-caregivers may be due to a healthy-carer bias in longitudinal observational studies; however, these and other potential benefits of informal caregiving deserve further attention by researchers. KW - cohort studies KW - longitudinal studies KW - cross-sectional studies KW - family caregivers KW - informal caregiving KW - mental health KW - physical health KW - population-based studies KW - systematic review Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-275219 SN - 1660-4601 VL - 19 IS - 10 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kittel-Schneider, Sarah A1 - Davidova, Petra A1 - Kalok, Miriam A1 - Essel, Corina A1 - Ahmed, Fadia Ben A1 - Kingeter, Yasmina A1 - Matentzoglu, Maria A1 - Leutritz, Anna A1 - Kersken, Katharina A1 - Koreny, Carolin A1 - Weber, Heike A1 - Kollert, Leoniee A1 - McNeill, Rihannon V. A1 - Reif, Andreas A1 - Bahlmann, Franz A1 - Trautmann-Villalba, Patricia T1 - A pilot study of multilevel analysis of BDNF in paternal and maternal perinatal depression JF - Archives of Women's Mental Health N2 - Depression in the perinatal period is common in mothers worldwide. Emerging research indicates that fathers are also at risk of developing perinatal depression. However, knowledge regarding biological risk factors and pathophysiological mechanisms of perinatal depression is still scarce, particularly in fathers. It has been suggested that the neurotrophin BDNF may play a role in maternal perinatal depression; however, there is currently no data regarding paternal perinatal depression. For this pilot study, 81 expecting parents were recruited and assessed at several time points. We screened for depression using EPDS and MADRS, investigated several psychosocial variables, and took blood samples for BDNF val66met genotyping, epigenetic, and protein analysis. Between pregnancy and 12 months postpartum (pp), we found that 3.7 to 15.7% of fathers screened positive for depression, and 9.6 to 24% of mothers, with at least a twofold increased prevalence in both parents using MADRS compared with EPDS. We also identified several psychosocial factors associated with perinatal depression in both parents. The data revealed a trend that lower BDNF levels correlated with maternal depressive symptoms at 3 months pp. In the fathers, no significant correlations between BDNF and perinatal depression were found. Pregnant women demonstrated lower BDNF methylation and BDNF protein expression compared with men; however, these were found to increase postpartum. Lastly, we identified correlations between depressive symptoms and psychosocial/neurobiological factors. The data suggest that BDNF may play a role in maternal perinatal depression, but not paternal. KW - gene KW - paternal KW - maternal KW - postnatal depression KW - BDNF Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-268849 SN - 1435-1102 VL - 25 IS - 1 ER -