Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a devastating disease
requiring improvements in diagnosis and prevention. Blood metabolomics
identifies biological markers discriminatory between women with and
those without antenatal depressive symptoms. Whether this cutting-edge
method can be applied to postpartum depressive symptoms merits further
investigation. Methods: As a substudy within the Biology, Affect,
Stress, Imagine and Cognition Study, 24 women with PPD symptom (PPDS)
assessment at 6 weeks postpartum were included. Controls were selected
as having a score of <= 6 and PPDS cases as >= 12 on the Edinburgh
Postnatal Depression Scale. Blood plasma was collected at 10 weeks
postpartum and analyzed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
metabolomics. Results: Variations of metabolomic profiles within the
PPDS samples were identified. One cluster showed altered kidney
function, whereas the other, a metabolic syndrome profile, both
previously associated with depression. Five metabolites (glycerol,
threonine, 2-hydroxybutanoic acid, erythritol, and phenylalanine) showed
higher abundance among women with PPDSs, indicating perturbations in the
serine/threonine and glycerol lipid metabolism, suggesting oxidative
stress conditions. Conclusions: Alterations in certain metabolites were
associated with depressive pathophysiology postpartum, whereas diversity
in PPDS physiologies was revealed. Hence, plasma metabolic profiling
could be considered in diagnosis and pathophysiological investigation of
PPD toward providing clues for treatment. Future studies require
standardization of various subgroups with respect to symptom onset,
lifestyle, and comorbidities
