Serum oxytocin and corticotropin-releasing hormone levels in the third trimester of pregnancy for predicting postpartum depression in Thai women.

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This prospective observational study aimed to determine whether serum oxytocin (OT) or corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) levels in the third trimester of pregnancy (or late pregnancy) could prospectively predict postpartum depression (PPD) at six weeks after childbirth. We measured late pregnancy OT and CRH levels in Thai women, assessed depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and collected mothers, labor, and newborn data. At six weeks postpartum, an EPDS score ≥11 or PHQ-9 score ≥10 was defined as the presence of PPD. Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the predictors of PPD. Of 200 participants, 136 (68.0%) were reassessed at six weeks postpartum, and 19 of them (14.0%) had PPD. Of the 19 participants with PPD, 9 met the EPDS criterion only, 3 met the PHQ-9 criterion only, and 7 met both criteria. OT levels were not significantly different between those with and without PPD (p=0.35). CRH levels (aOR = 1.011, 95% CI = 1.001-1.023, p=0.041), DASS-21 stress (aOR = 1.259, 95% CI = 1.132-1.400, p<0.001), and APGAR at 1min (aOR = 0.425, 95% CI = 0.240-0.752, p=0.003) were significant predictors of PPD. Only high CRH but not OT levels in late pregnancy may predict 6-week PPD. However, combining these CRH levels, late pregnancy stress, and newborn well-being immediately after birth seems to increase the accuracy of PPD prediction.