Rapid decrease of serum cholesterol concentration and postpartum depression: Table 1

On the basis of studies of pharmacological reduction of serum lipid concentrations, it has been suggested that reduction in serum cholesterol and triglyceride is associated with occurrence of depressive symptoms, suicides, and violent deaths.1 2 3 Pregnancy induces a physiological rise in both serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations, with peak concentrations at term and a rapid decrease within a few days after delivery. Maternity blues is a common complication of the puerperium independent of obstetric variables.4 We postulated that the sudden fall in blood lipids after delivery could serve as a “natural” model to test the suggested association between serum lipids and mood. We studied 20 healthy primiparous women (mean age 25.3, SD 3.7, range 19-34 years) without substantial marital, health, or socioeconomic problems and without a history of psychiatric disorders who registered consecutively for obstetric …