Mental Disorders of the Female Reproductive Cycle

Abstract

Background: Mental disorders associated with the female reproductive cycle (premenstrual period, pregnancy, lactation, infertility, perimenopause) have been a clinical reality throughout the history of the study of psychosomatic health factors in women. The most recent ICD-11 classication distinguishes an independent categories, “Mental or behavioral disorders associated with pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium, with/without psychotic symptoms”. The clinical and etiological variety of mental disorders associated with female reproductive cycle (MDFRC) requires an integrated approach to diagnostics and choice of treatment methods. Objective: to analyze the results of the main scientic studies concerning pathogenetic and clinical characteristics of MDFRC. Material and methods: the key words “mental disorders, premenstrual syndrome, pregnancy, infertility, lactation, perimenopause, involution” were used to search the databases of articles of domestic and foreign authors (PubMed, eLibrary, Scopus and ResearchGate) published over the past 25 years. Conclusion : The presented review analyzed the results of studies showing that a variety of psychoemotional stresses and endocrinological abnormalities at different stages of the female generative cycle are risk factors for the development of psychiatric disorders. MDFRC include heterogeneous and polymorphous anxiety, affective, dysmorphic, and psychotic symptom complexes. However, the lack of a clear understanding of their pathogenesis leads to persistent disagreement as to whether MDFRC (postpartum psychosis, involutionary melancholia/hysteria, etc.) are independent psychiatric disorders or provoked exacerbations of other psychiatric diseases in predisposed women. The presented review allows to improve understanding of MDFRC, their risk factors and clinical variants, which has important practical value in diagnostics and choice of treatment methods.