Around 3 million people have MS globally, three-quarters of whom are women. While peripartum mood and anxiety disorders are the most common form of maternal morbidity in the general population, little is known about the risk of peripartum mental illness in women with MS. In the current study, researchers thus investigated rates of peripartum mental illness among mothers with MS in comparison to women without the condition.
To do so, they analyzed health data from Ontario, Canada, including 894, 852 mothers, of whom 1, 745 had MS, and 869, 227 did not. The women were an average of 28.6 years old. The researchers observed participants's health records from two years before conception to three years after they gave birth.
Ultimately, they found that 42% of women with MS had a mental illness during pregnancy, a figure which increased to 50% in the first year after giving birth. By comparison, just 30% of people without MS had a mental illness during pregnancy, which increased to 38% in the first year after giving birth.
After adjusting for factors including age at conception and income in the area of residence, the researchers found that women with MS had a 26% higher risk of mental illness during pregnancy and a 33% higher risk after giving birth compared to those without the condition.
They additionally found that while women with MS had a higher risk of anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, psychosis, and substance use disorder, they did not have a greater risk of attempted suicide.
"These findings emphasize the need for preventive and early treatment of mental illness. Future studies should look at how MS affects mental health in mothers during and after pregnancy and if it's worse in different stages of MS. Doctors should know about these risks, make sure to check mental health, and provide treatment if needed," said study author Ruth Ann Marrie, MD, PhD, of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, in a press release.
Limitations to the study include that researchers did not examine the severity of participants' MS, treatments used, or their health habits.
Sources: EurekAlert, Neurology