Cited by 110Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and PostpartumHomicide, Infanticide, and Child AbuseMaternal and fetal healthcare

All-cause mortality in women with severe postpartum psychiatric disorders

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Johannsen, Benedicte Marie Winther, Larsen, Janne Tidselbak, Laursen, Thomas Munk, Bergink, Veerle, Meltzer-Brody, Samantha, Munk-Olsen, Trine·2016·American Journal of Psychiatry

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The postpartum period is associated with a high risk of psychiatric episodes. The authors studied mortality in women with first-onset severe psychiatric disorders following childbirth and compared their mortality rates with those in women from the background population including other female psychiatric patients (mothers and childless women). METHOD: In a register-based cohort study with linked information from Danish population registers, the authors identified women with first psychiatric inpatient or outpatient contacts 0-3 months postpartum. The main outcome measure was mortality rate ratios (MRRs): deaths from natural causes (diseases and medical conditions) or unnatural causes (suicides, accidents, and homicides). The cohort included 1,545,857 women representing 68,473,423 person-years at risk. RESULTS: In total, 2,699 women had first-onset psychiatric disorders 0-3 months postpartum, and 96 of these died during follow-up. Women with postpartum psychiatric disorders had a higher MRR (3.74; 95% CI=3.06-4.57) than non-postpartum-onset mothers (MRR=2.73; 95% CI=2.67-2.79) when compared with mothers with no psychiatric history. However, childless women with psychiatric diagnoses had the highest MRR (6.15; 95% CI=5.94-6.38). Unnatural cause of death represented 40.6% of fatalities among women with postpartum psychiatric disorders, and within the first year after diagnosis, suicide risk was drastically increased (MRR=289.42; 95% CI=144.02-581.62) when compared with mothers with no psychiatric history. CONCLUSIONS: Women with severe postpartum psychiatric disorders had increased MRRs compared with mothers without psychiatric diagnoses, and the first year after diagnosis represents a time of particularly high relative risk for suicide in this vulnerable group.

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  1. [11]Lewis G Lewis G Introduction and key findings, in Why Mothers Die 1997–1999: Confidential Enquiry Into Maternal and Child Health 2001 chap 1 22 RCOG Press London

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Authors
Johannsen, B. M. W., Larsen, J. T., Laursen, T. M., Bergink, V., Meltzer-Brody, S., & Munk-Olsen, T.
Affiliations
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
  • From the National Center for Register-Based Research and the Center for Integrated Register-Based Research, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; the Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and the Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill.
Venue
American Journal of Psychiatry
Published
2016-06-01
Volume
173
Issue
6
Pages
635-642
ISSN
  • 0002-953X (ISSN-L)
  • 1535-7228
OpenAlex
W2292507621
Cited by
110
References
32
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 8
FWCI
12.56
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • American Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Lundbeckfonden (R155-2014-1724, R155-2012-11280)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH104468)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Maternal and fetal healthcare
Keywords
postpartum mental disorders, all-cause mortality, suicide risk, postpartum depression, childless women, mothers, mortality rate ratio, unnatural causes of death, postpartum period
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Mental Disorders, Cause of Death, Denmark, Female, Humans, Puerperal Disorders, Registries, Suicide, Survival Analysis, Case-Control Studies, Postpartum Period, Young Adult

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