Prenatal dysthymia versus major depression effects on maternal cortisol and fetal growth

• Autor(a) principal: Field, Tiffany
• Data de Publicação: 2008
• Outros Autores: Diego, Miguel A, Hernandez-Reif, Maria, Figueiredo, Bárbara, Ascencio, Angela, Schanberg, Saul, Kuhn, Cynthia
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/41552
• topic: dysthymia; MDD; cortisol; fetal growth; Ciências Sociais::Psicologia

To determine differences between pregnant women diagnosed with Dysthymia versus Major Depression, depressed pregnant women (N=102) were divided by their diagnosis into Dysthymic (N=48) and Major Depression (N=54) groups and compared on self-report measures (depression, anxiety, anger, daily hassles and behavioral inhibition), on stress hormone levels (cortisol and norepinephrine), and on fetal measurements. The Major Depression group had more self-reported symptoms. However, the Dysthymic group had higher prenatal cortisol levels and lower fetal growth measurements (estimated weight, femur length, abdominal circumference) as measured at their first ultrasound (M=18 weeks gestation). Thus, depressed pregnant women with Dysthymia and Major Depression appeared to have different prenatal symptoms.