The current study suggests that within a similarly aged population of women with no lifetime history of depression, those who enter the menopausal transition earlier have a significant risk for first onset of depression. Further studies are needed to determine more definitively whether other factors, such as the presence of vasomotor symptoms, use of hormone therapy, and the occurrence of adverse life events, independently modify this risk. Physical symptoms associated with the menopausal transition and mood changes seen during this period may affect many women as they age and may lead to a significant burden of illness.

Pregnancy is not "protective" with respect to risk of relapse of major depression. Women with histories of depression who are euthymic in the context of ongoing antidepressant therapy should be aware of the association of depressive relapse during pregnancy with antidepressant discontinuation.

Background There is controversy regarding whether the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and other antidepressants in pregnancy is associated with increased risks for congenital cardiac defects. In particular, concerns exist about a possible association between paroxetine and right ventricular outflow tract obstruction (RVOTO), and between sertraline and ventricular septal defects (VSD). Methods We performed a cohort study nested in the 2000–2007 nationwide Medicaid Analytic eXtract. The study included 949,504 pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid from three months before conception through one month post delivery, and their live-born infants. We compared the risk of major cardiac defects in women with antidepressant medication use during the first trimester versus no use, restricting the cohort to women with depression and using propensity score adjustment to control for depression severity and other potential confounders. Results 64,389 women (6.8%) used antidepressants during the first trimester. Overall, 6,403 infants not exposed to antidepressants were born with a cardiac defect (72.3 per 10,000), compared with 580 infants exposed (90.1 per 10,000). Associations between antidepressant use and cardiac defects were attenuated with increasing levels of adjustment for confounding. For SSRIs, relative risks for any cardiac defect were 1.25 (95%CI, 1.13–1.38) unadjusted, 1.12 (1.00–1.26) depression-restricted, and 1.06 (0.93–1.22) depression-restricted and fully-adjusted. We found no significant associations between the use of paroxetine and RVOTO (1.07, 0.59–1.93), or the use of sertraline and VSD (1.04, 0.76–1.41). Conclusions Results of this large population-based cohort study suggest no substantial increased risk of cardiac malformations attributable to SSRIs.

Discontinuation of mood stabilizer, particularly abruptly, during pregnancy carries a high risk for new morbidity in women with bipolar disorder, especially for early depressive and dysphoric states. However, this risk is reduced markedly by continued mood stabilizer treatment. Treatment planning for pregnant women with bipolar disorder should consider not only the relative risks of fetal exposure to mood stabilizers but also the high risk of recurrence and morbidity associated with stopping maintenance mood stabilizer treatment.

Since treatment can be managed most effectively if pregnancy is planned, clinicians should discuss the issue of pregnancy and its management with every bipolar disorder patient who has childbearing potential, regardless of future reproductive plans. Additional research should address the risks of disturbed sleep to pregnant and postpartum women with bipolar disorder, as well as structural and behavioral consequences to offspring when mood stabilizers are used during pregnancy. Longitudinal and cohort studies can promote these efforts. Given the rate of bipolar disorder in the general population, research efforts will need to be broad based and include multiple collaborating centers.

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ORMONAL AGENTS HAVE BEEN the predominant therapy for menopausal hot flashes, but their use decreased substantially following the shifts in riskbenefit ratios that were identified in the Women's Health Initiative Estrogen plus Progestin randomized controlled trial. 1,2 However, no other treatments have US Food and Drug Administration approval for menopausal hot flashes, and the efficacy of alternative pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic agents is inconclusive. [3][4][5] Selective serotonin and serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs and SNRIs) have been investigated for hot flash treatment with mixed results [6][7][8][9][10][11] ; a pooled analysis of 7 SSRI and SNRI studies showed that decreases in hot flash scores ranged from 3% to 41% compared with placebo. 6 Differences among the serotonergic antidepressants, 11 study popu-