Two-way risk found in women having autoimmune diseases, pregnancy-linked depression

NEW DELHI, Jan 11 : Women with autoimmune diseases could be more likely to suffer from depression during pregnancy and after childbirth, researchers have found.
They also observed a converse relationship where women with a history of pregnancy and childbirth-linked, or perinatal, depression might be at a higher risk of developing autoimmune diseases where the body’s immune system mistakenly starts attacking healthy tissues. Some of the common autoimmune diseases include gluten intolerance, rheumatoid arthritis, Type 1 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis.

The researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, found the association was strongest for multiple sclerosis — a neurological disease. It was also strongest among women with no previous psychiatric diagnosis.