Sleep and Circadian Factors Involved in Perinatal Depression

Dear Colleagues,

Perinatal depression (PND) is a severe mental disorder with disruptive consequences on the health and well-being of mothers, children, and their families. Due to the induced socioeconomic burden, PND also represents a major public health problem for society as a whole and is therefore considered a priority target of preventive health strategies at a global level. There is, in fact, a general consensus among experts that PND is still prevalent, underrecognized, and undertreated. 

While research on the pathophysiological mechanisms of PND is leading to increased knowledge of the multifactorial causes of this condition and is likely to provide new biomarkers for medical use in the near future, none of these is currently available for everyday clinical practice. Conversely, there is an urgent need for easy and universal screening instruments, as well as safe and affordable treatments that all women can have access to.

Sleep and circadian rhythm disruption are commonly experienced by women during the perinatal period and there is growing evidence that these factors are involved in the pathogenesis of PND. In particular, it has been shown that different trajectories in subjective sleep quality across the perinatal period exist and that women with poor sleep quality during pregnancy are more likely to experience severe depressive symptoms after delivery. Similarly, worse sleep quality in the early postpartum period has been suggested to be an independent predictor of later postpartum depression.

For these reasons, the identification of specific sleep and circadian risk factors for PND may critically contribute to the implementation of preventive strategies and therapeutic approaches for the affected women.

Topics of this issue include, but are not limited to the following:

• Sleep-related and circadian mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of perinatal depression;
• Screening instruments and diagnostic tools to assess sleep and circadian disruption in the perinatal period; 
• Preventive and therapeutic strategies targeting sleep and circadian disorders in perinatal women;
• Impact of disrupted sleep and circadian rhythms during the perinatal period on public health and society.

Dr. Corrado Garbazza
Guest Editor

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• sleep disorders
• sleep quality
• circadian rhythms
• perinatal depression
• maternal mental health
• pregnancy
• gestational complications
• circadian medicine
• hormones