The Weekly Roundup for August 29, 2025: Recent Publications in Women’s Mental Health

PMS AND PMDD The role of emotion dysregulation and rumination in predicting premenstrual symptom severity in premenstrual disorders and elevated anxiety or depression. Kaluve AM, Graham BM. J Affect Disord. 2025 Nov 15;389:119705. The PMDD group endorsed greater rumination and emotion dysregulation than both women with PMS and those without premenstrual symptoms. Greater trait emotion dysregulation and rumination predicted higher premenstrual symptom severity across groups. Rumination was the strongest predictor of premenstrual symptom severity between groups, compared to other emotion dysregulation measures. INFERTILITY AND MENTAL HEALTH Association of cannabis use with female infertility based on NHANES. Chen C, Wu Y, Pei L, Ren W. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2025 Dec;45(1):2502663. Among females of childbearing age, the odds of infertility was not elevated among current cannabis users compared with never-users, while the odds of infertility was elevated among former users. Cannabis use & female infertility: A cross-sectional analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2013-2018. Arora M, Dzubay SK, Huntington A, Prewitt KC, Andrea SB. Ann Epidemiol. 2025 Apr;104:1-7. Compared to never use, women with regular use had 53% greater odds of infertility (aOR: 1.53; 95% CI: 0.91, 2.55) and women with irregular use had 17% lower odds of infertility (aOR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.54, 1.27), without statistical significance. PSYCHIATRIC ILLNESS DURING PREGNANCY Unveiling the hidden triad of antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and Z-hypnotics during pregnancy: A 15-year population-based study in Taiwan. Chuang HM, Meng LC, Lin CW, Chen WW, Chen YY, Shang CY, Chen LK, Hsiao FY. J Affect Disord. 2025 Sep 15;385:119372. In this study from China, Antidepressant users, 65% concomitantly used BZDs and 41% concomitantly used Z-hypnotics. Notably, alcohol abuse (OR 4.08, 95% CI 2.13-7.81), substance abuse (OR 3.91, 95% CI 2.15-7.12), depression (OR 3.54, 95% CI 3.29-3.82), and insomnia (OR 3.61, 95% CI 3.25-4.00) were significant determinants of concomitant use. MEDICATIONS AND PREGNANCY Maternal Use of Antidepressants in Pregnancy and the Risk of Postpartum Hemorrhage: An Electronic Health Record-Based Cohort Study. Bobo WV, White L, Hodge D, Moore K, Betcher H, Larish AM, Stoppel C, Talati A. Hum Psychopharmacol. 2025 Sep;40(5):e70015. Prenatal S/NRI exposure was associated with an increased risk of PPH after adjusting for maternal depression, although residual confounding and confounding by other factors (including unmeasured factors) may be possible, as the risk of PPH appeared to be similar between S/NRI users and former users. The use of pregabalin in early pregnancy and major congenital malformations: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Atzenhoffer M, Peron A, Picot C, Cucherat M, Cottin J. Reprod Toxicol. 2025 Sep;136:108958. In this study, 701 were exposed to pregabalin monotherapy during the first trimester of pregnancy. There was no significant association between the risk of MCMs and first trimester exposure to pregabalin monotherapy (pooled OR 1.79, 95%CI [0.80; 3.99]). Association of antidepressant use during pregnancy and pregnancy-induced hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Hu S, Lin T, Li L, Liu J, Zhao F, Xie H. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2025 Aug 25;25(1):884. This study demonstrates differential associations between antenatal exposure to three antidepressant classes (SSRIs, SNRIs, TCAs) and gestational hypertension/preeclampsia risk. Enhanced blood pressure monitoring is advised during SNRI therapy. Descriptive Characteristics of Psychiatric Medication Discontinuation Among Perinatal Women With Depressive Symptoms. Julce C, Flahive J, Lightbourne T, Podila S, Mahanna A, Zimmermann M, Sheldrick RC, Moore Simas TA, Byatt N. Early Interv Psychiatry. 2025 Jun;19(6):e70070. Approximately 65% reported medication discontinuation in pregnancy (95% CI: 55%-74%). Those who discontinued had a median Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score that was 1 point higher than those who continued (p = 0.12). Of those who discontinued medications, 27% were never married, 52% reported annual incomes < $60 000, and 56% were Medicaid-insured. Risks of prematurity and low birth weight associated with trimester-specific prenatal benzodiazepine exposure. Chen VC, Chen YL, Kao KL, Lee YC, Lu ML, Wu SI, Stewart R. J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2025 Aug 26;50(4):E310-E317. Benzodiazepine exposure during the third trimester, but not the first or second trimesters, increased the risks of PTB and SGA. POSTPARTUM PSYCHIATRIC ILLNESS The effect of low-dose esketamine on maternal depression after cesarean delivery. Shang Y, Li S, Zheng Q, Mi T, Lv Y, Han L, Wang B. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 2025 Dec;46(1):2527659. Low-dose intravenous esketamine, reduces postpartum depression scores post-cesarean section. Prophylactic esketamine for postpartum depression after cesarean section: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Shi H, Zheng C, Shou H, Zhu B. J Affect Disord. 2025 Nov 1;388:119631. Current research suggests that the use of esketamine post-Cesarean is associated with lower incidence of PPD, lower EPDS scores, and lower pain scores. Prenatal BMI was a negative predictor of the antidepressant efficacy of esketamine. Neurosteroid treatment of postpartum depression and beyond. Deligiannidis KM, Meltzer-Brody S. Br J Psychiatry. 2025 Jun;226(6):340-342. Review article discusses neurosteroid treatment approaches for postpartum depression and possible implications for treatment beyond perinatal periods. Trends in prevalence and treatment of antepartum and postpartum depression in the United States: Data from the national health and nutrition examination survey (NHANES) 2007 to 2018. Gardner RM, Sultan P, Bernert RA, Simard JF. PLoS One. 2025 Apr 30;20(4):e0322536. In a nationally representative sample, depression prevalence was lower in perinatal women compared to reproductive-age controls, and treatment rates were lowest in antepartum women with prevalent depression. MEDICATIONS AND BREASTFEEDING No articles this week PERINATAL SUBSTANCE USE Racial and Ethnic Inequities in the Receipt of Medications to Treat Opioid Use Disorder Among Pregnant People: A Meta-analysis. Gerdts G, Sale K, Raynor P, Schiff DM, Terplan M, Bush E, Nidey N. J Addict Med. 2025 Jul-Aug 01;19(4):437-445. Use of medications for opioid use disorders was significantly less common among Black (pooled OR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.23, 0.55) and Hispanic (pooled OR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.40, 0.89) pregnant people compared to their White counterparts. The Opioid Epidemic and Perinatal Health. O’Nan S, Hoover EA, Jones C. Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am. 2025 Sep;52(3):493-505. Review of the impact of the opioid epidemic on perinatal health, trends and treatment implications. Buprenorphine: A Better Option for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment in Pregnancy Compared to Methadone. Sanford B, Espinoza A, Eniola K. J Am Board Fam Med. 2025 Jan-Feb;38(1):188-191. Review article suggests buprenorphine offers advantages over methadone for opioid use disorder treatment in pregnancy. MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH AND CHILD OUTCOMES No articles this week MENOPAUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH A Review of Cognitive, Sleep, and Mood Changes in the Menopausal Transition: Beyond Vasomotor Symptoms. Williams M, Maki PM. Obstet Gynecol. 2025 May 22;146(3):350-359. Review explores cognitive, sleep, and mood changes that occur during the menopausal transition, extending beyond vasomotor symptoms. OTHER TOPICS IN WOMEN’S MENTAL HEALTH No articles this week