Summary
There is increasing awareness of the influence of female reproductive life events on the course of bipolar disorder. Here, we describe the case histories of 5 women diagnosed with postpartum psychosis who subsequently experienced major mood disorders in relation to the perimenopause. This case series suggests that (a) the perimenopause may be a time of increased risk for women who experienced postpartum bipolar episodes and (b) periods of hormonal change represent a major trigger for bipolar episodes in some women.
References
InstitutionalAuthorNameAPA (1994) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders EditionNumber3 American Psychiatric Association Washington, DC
MC Blehar JJ DePaulo ES Gershon T Reich SG Simpson JIJ Nurnberger (1998) ArticleTitleWomen with bipolar disorder: findings from the NIMH genetics initiative sample Psychopharmacol Bull 34 239–243 Occurrence Handle9803748 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DyaK1M%2FitVGruw%3D%3D
M Bloch PJ Schmidt M Danaceau J Murphy L Nieman DR Rubinow (2000) ArticleTitleEffects of gonadal steroids in women with a history of postpartum depression Am J Psychiatry 157 924–930 Occurrence Handle10831472 Occurrence Handle10.1176/appi.ajp.157.6.924 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DC%2BD3c3pt1OnsQ%3D%3D
MP Freeman KW Smith SA Freeman SL McElroy GF Kmetz R Wright PE Keck SuffixJr (2002) ArticleTitleThe impact of reproductive events on the course of bipolar disorder in women J Clin Psychiatry 63 284–287 Occurrence Handle12004800
BL Harlow LS Cohen MW Otto D Spiegelman DW Cramer (1999) ArticleTitlePrevalence and predictors of depressive symptoms in older premenopausal women: the Harvard study of moods and cycles Arch Gen Psychiatry 56 418–424 Occurrence Handle10232296 Occurrence Handle10.1001/archpsyc.56.5.418 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DyaK1M3kslamtA%3D%3D
BL Harlow LA Wise MW Otto CN Soares LS Cohen (2003) ArticleTitleDepression and its influence on reproductive endocrine and menstrual cycle markers associated with perimenopause: the Harvard study of moods and cycles Arch Gen Psychiatry 60 29–36 Occurrence Handle12511170 Occurrence Handle10.1001/archpsyc.60.1.29
I Jones N Craddock (2005) ArticleTitleBipolar disorder and childbirth: the importance of recognising risk Br J Psychiatry 186 453–454 Occurrence Handle15928351 Occurrence Handle10.1192/bjp.186.6.453
I Jones C Lendon N Coyle E Robertson I Brockington N Craddock (2001) ArticleTitleMolecular genetic approaches to puerperal psychosis Prog Brain Res 133 321–331 Occurrence Handle11589140 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3MXns1yqs7s%3D Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0079-6123(01)33024-8
E Robertson I Jones J Benjamin C Murdoch G Pelios I Brockington N Craddock (2000) ArticleTitleApproaches to the ascertainment, recruitment and clinical assessment of women with puerperal psychosis Arch Womens Ment Health 3 59–64 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s007370070007
DR Rubinow PJ Schmidt (1995) ArticleTitleThe treatment of premenstrual syndrome – forward into the past N Engl J Med 332 1574–1575 Occurrence Handle7739713 Occurrence Handle10.1056/NEJM199506083322309 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DyaK2M3lvVWhtQ%3D%3D
CN Soares LS Cohen MW Otto BL Harlow (2001) ArticleTitleCharacteristics of women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) who did or did not report history of depression: a preliminary report from the Harvard study of moods and cycles J Womens Health Gend Based Med 10 873–878 Occurrence Handle11747682 Occurrence Handle10.1089/152460901753285778 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DC%2BD3MjgtVehuw%3D%3D
JK Wing T Babor T Brugha J Burke (1990) ArticleTitleSCAN: schedules for clinical assessment in neuropsychiatry Arch Gen Psychiatry 47 589–593 Occurrence Handle2190539 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DyaK3c3nsVCltw%3D%3D
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Correspondence: Ian Jones Ph.D., MRCPsych, Department of Psychological Medicine, Henry Wellcome Building for Biomedical Research in Wales, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XN, U.K.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Robertson Blackmore, E., Craddock, N., Walters, J. et al. Is the perimenopause a time of increased risk of recurrence in women with a history of bipolar affective postpartum psychosis? A case series. Arch Womens Ment Health 11, 75–78 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-008-0215-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-008-0215-2