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Relationship of bipolar disorder with psychiatric comorbidity in the postpartum period—a scoping review

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Abstract

Childbirth can trigger a variety of psychiatric disorders; however, no disorder is as profoundly affected by childbirth as bipolar disorder. Rates of psychiatric comorbidity especially anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, and substance use disorders are quite high in individuals with bipolar disorder. The purpose of this scoping review is to ascertain the effect of childbirth on the relationship between the onset of bipolar disorder and comorbid psychiatric disorders. On June 27, 2017, a search of the Medline, PsycINFO, CINHAL, EMBASE, SCOPUS, COCHRANE, and ISI-Web of Science (WOS) databases was performed using the terms mental disorders, mental disease, major depressive disorder, major depression, depression, panic disorder, bipolar disorder, comorbidity, anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorders, reactive attachment disorder, childbirth, parturition, puerperium, postpartum, postpartum period and postnatal period. Reference lists of identified papers were manually searched, and all relevant papers published in English were included. A total of eight relevant articles were identified and included in the review. There is some evidence to suggest that occurrence of certain psychiatric disorders in the postpartum period may predict later onset of bipolar disorder. It is unknown whether childbirth raises the risk of postpartum recurrence of comorbid disorders. Whether patients who have past histories of psychiatric disorders are at increased risk for onset of bipolar disorder in the postpartum period also remains unclear. Additional research is needed to increase our understanding of the impact of childbirth on bipolar disorder and comorbid psychiatric disorders. A better understanding of this issue could lead to more accurate and timely detection, improved treatment planning, and optimal delivery of care for these disorders.

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks Elizabeth Russell, librarian at Parkwood Institute, for her help with the literature search as well as Minakshi Doobay and Christine Baczynski for their assistance in preparing the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    Verinder Sharma

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  1. Verinder Sharma
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Correspondence to Verinder Sharma.

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Conflict of interest

Dr. Sharma has received grant support from, participated on scientific advisory boards for, or served on speakers bureaus of Assurex, Genome Canada, Neurocrine Biosciences, Sage Therapeutics, Stanley Medical Research Institute, and Sunovion Pharmaceuticals.

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Sharma, V. Relationship of bipolar disorder with psychiatric comorbidity in the postpartum period—a scoping review. Arch Womens Ment Health 21, 141–147 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-017-0782-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-017-0782-1

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