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The Journal "Obstetrics and Gynecology"Journal HistoryAims and ScopePolicies on Conflict of Interest, Human and Animal Rights, and Informed ConsentEditorial ProcessData sharing statementAdvertising PolicyThe Process for Handling Cases Requiring Corrections, Retractions, and Editorial Expressions of ConcernEditorial BoardEditorial CounsilInformation for ProfessionalsNewsContacts
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For authors
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Obstetrics and Gynegology2026№9

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder as a risk factor of postpartum depression: epidemiological and neurobiological aspects

DOI
https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2026.95

Litavrin A.I., Skripakova E.V., Shumkina A.A., Sheshukova N.A., Levakov S.A.

I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Health of Russia (Sechenov University), Moscow, Russia

Postpartum depression remains one of the most clinically significant affective disorders of the reproductive period, with long-term impact on a woman’s mental health and her child development. Although a wide range of psychosocial and psychiatric risk factors have been identified, their individual prognostic value remains limited. In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the concept of hormonal sensitivity as a key mechanism underlying vulnerability to affective disorders associated with reproductive transitions. In this context, premenstrual dysphoric disorder is regarded as a clinical phenotype of an atypical neurobiological response to physiological fluctuations in reproductive hormones. This review summarizes the epidemiological, clinical and molecular evidence suggesting a link between premenstrual dysphoric disorder and an increased risk of postpartum depression. This article examines the findings of systematic reviews, meta-analyses and prospective cohort studies demonstrating a consistent association between premenstrual affective disorders and postpartum depression. Particular attention is paid to the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the intersection of these two conditions, including neurosteroid modulation of GABAergic transmission, the plasticity of GABA A receptors, and the contribution of the serotonergic system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The article discusses, separately, the experimental and pharmacological data supporting the role of hormonal sensitivity as a common pathogenetic link, as well as the clinical implications of using premenstrual dysphoric disorder as a marker of increased risk for postpartum depression.
Conclusion. The presented data support the concept of reproductive hormonal sensitivity as a unifying neurobiological mechanism underlying premenstrual dysphoric disorder and postpartum depression, and highlight the need to integrate clinical, epidemiological and molecular approaches for more accurate prediction and prevention of postpartum depression. 

Authors’ contributions. Sheshukova N.A., Levakov S.A. – developing the concept of the article; Litavrin A.I., Skripakova E.V., Shumkina A.A. – collecting and processing the material, writing the text; Sheshukova N.A. – editing the text.
Conflicts of interest. Authors declare lack of the possible conflicts of interests.
Funding. The study was conducted without sponsorship.
Generative Artificial Intelligence. During the preparation of the manuscript, artificial intelligence tools were used to search for and conduct a preliminary analysis of the scientific literature; however, the final selection of sources, interpretation of data and formulation of conclusions were carried out by the authors.
For citation: Litavrin A.I., Skripakova E.V., Shumkina A.A., Sheshukova N.A., Levakov S.A. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder as a risk factor of postpartum depression: epidemiological and neurobiological aspects.
Akusherstvo i Ginekologiya/Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2026; (9): 24-31 (in Russian)
https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2026.95

Keywords

postpartum depression
premenstrual dysphoric disorder
hormonal sensitivity
neurosteroids
allopregnanolone
GABA A receptors
reproductive affective disorders
perinatal mental health
Full text (in Russian)

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Received 19.03.2026

Accepted 09.07.2026

About the Authors

Alexandr I. Litavrin, student, N.V. Sklifosovsky Institute of Clinical Medicine, Educational Track: Research, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University,
Ministry of Health of Russia (Sechenov University), 119991, Russia, Moscow, Trubetskaya str., 8, build. 2, alexlitavrin29@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0460-4992
Ekaterina V. Skripakova, student, N.V. Sklifosovsky Institute of Clinical Medicine, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Health of Russia
(Sechenov University), 119991, Russia, Moscow, Trubetskaya str., 8, build. 2, skripakova07@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3260-3676
Anna A. Shumkina, student, N.V. Sklifosovsky Institute of Clinical Medicine, Profile: Health modeling, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Health of Russia (Sechenov University), 119991, Russia, Moscow, Trubetskaya str., 8, build. 2, shumkina_a_a@student.sechenov.ru, https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5059-5857
Nataliya A. Sheshukova, Dr. Med. Sci., Professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, N.V. Sklifosovsky Institute of Clinical Medicine, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Health of Russia (Sechenov University), 119991, Russia, Moscow, Trubetskaya str., 8, build. 2, sheshukova_n_a@staff.sechenov.ru,
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8757-0131
Sergey A. Levakov, Dr. Med. Sci., Professor, Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, N.V. Sklifosovsky Institute of Clinical Medicine, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Health of Russia (Sechenov University), 119991, Russia, Moscow, Trubetskaya str., 8, build 2, levakofv_s_a@staff.sechenov.ru, https://orcid.org/ 0000-0002-4591-838X

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