都市未来军医:饮食不调将加重孕期抑郁症

尽管专家说约10%的女人在怀孕期或刚刚分娩后会经历抑郁期，然而判断女人患此症状可能性大小的具体方法还是受到了限制。

In fact, little is known about the causes or early-warning signs of pregnancy-related depression.

事实上，人们很少知道女人因为妊娠而抑郁的原因和预警信息。

最新研究可以帮助人们识别潜在的妊娠抑郁患者，这也使得他们可能得到提前的治疗和照顾。

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine surveyed 158 pregnant and postpartum women undergoing treatment for depression at UNC’s Perinatal Psychiatry Clinic.

来自北卡罗莱纳大学教堂山分校医学院的研究者们，调查了158个正在联合国军司令部的围产期精神病诊所接受抑郁治疗的孕妇和产后妇女。

One-third of the patients reported a history of eating disorders; in addition, many had a history of physical or sexual abuse. This observation suggests psychiatric factors may increase a woman’s likelihood of developing depression during pregnancy or postpartum.

近1/3的病人有饮食不调历史，其余的人则是由于原先就患疾或性虐待。这个观察报告表明：精神因素可能加重妇女孕期或产后抑郁的可能性。

Accordingly, mental health screening tools that include questions about eating disorders, abuse and other factors should be incorporated into routine prenatal care, said Samantha Meltzer-Brody, M.D., the lead author of the study.

这项研究的主要发起人，Samantha Meltzer-Brody.M.D认为：包括有关饮食失调，性滥交以及其他因素的精神健康筛选工具应该被纳入常规的产前照护。

“Screening by obstetrical providers is really important because they can refer patients for appropriate treatment,” she said. “And that can prevent long-lasting problems for mom and baby.” Undiagnosed and treated postpartum depression “causes enormous distress to the family, and it can have long-lasting consequences for the child,” said Meltzer-Brody.

Meltzer-Brody还说：“产科供应商进行的筛选是非常重要的，因为他们可以知道病人进行适合的治疗。这样还可以预防母亲和婴儿带来的长期问题。另外，未知原因和未被治疗的产后抑郁更会对家庭产生很大的危害，并对孩子产生长期的影响。”

Children of depressed mothers are more likely to develop mental health problems, and children of mothers with an active eating disorder may also be more likely to develop an eating disorder themselves.

有抑郁症状的女人，她们的孩子更有可能产生精神问题，以及饮食非常紊乱的女人，她们的的孩子也很可能具有饮食不调的习惯。

Making sure mothers struggling with mental health issues receive adequate assessment and treatment is critical to breaking that cycle, said Meltzer-Brody. “The message we need to get out is that these things are incredibly common and routine screenings need to occur,” said Meltzer-Brody. “The prevalence of abuse and eating disorder histories may be much higher than people appreciate.”

Meltzer-Brody说：“为了打破这样的循环，确保患有精神疾病的妈妈得到充分的评估和治疗此时至关重要。我们需要公布的信息是，患有抑郁的情况非常普遍，因此例行的筛选显得十分必要，因为普遍的性滥用和饮食失调历史都将比人们的预期高出很多。”

Sadly, up to 25 percent of women experience physical or sexual abuse during their lifetime. Further, an estimated 6-8 percent of women experience an eating disorder, with binge eating and bulimia nervosa being the most common, followed by anorexia and other disorders.

遗憾的是，近25%的女人一生中有过肉体或性虐待。而且估计有6%-8%的女人有过饮食失调经历，尤其是狂吃和暴饮暴食最为常见，接下来则是厌食症和其他不正常症状。

“Pregnancy and the postpartum period is a very vulnerable time for women,” said Meltzer-Brody. Rapid changes in body shape, weight and hormone levels, combined with major lifestyle changes during the transition to motherhood, can take a toll on women—especially those with a history of previous psychiatric issues.

Meltzer-Brody提出：孕期和产后是女人们最脆弱的时候。在过渡到母亲的过程中，体型、身高、激素水平以及主要的生活方式的快速转变都需要女人付出一定的代价—尤其是先前有精神问题的女人。

尽管有这么多的挑战，Meltzer-Brody认为如果孕妇需要，她们还是可与医生约好合适的时间来帮助其进行心理健康治疗。怀孕期是人们最有动力做出改变和接受治疗的时期，因为孕妇的行为将直接严重地影响到婴儿的行为趋势。同时，医生们也可以帮忙缓解妊娠期的抑郁症状。