No Concurrent Association Found Between Maternal Thyroid Hormone Concentrations (TSH, FT4, FT3) and Antepartum Depression in Late Pregnancy: A Meta-Analysis Highlighting the Need for Categorical Risk Assessment
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Literature Searching
2.2. Data Extraction, Quality Assessment and Publication Bias
2.3. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Study Selection and Quality Assessment of the Included Studies
3.2. Association Between Maternal Free Triiodothyronine (FT3) Levels and Antepartum Depression
3.3. Association Between Maternal Free Thyroxine (FT4) Levels and Antepartum Depression
3.4. Association Between Maternal Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) Levels and Antepartum Depression
3.5. Sensitivity Analysis by Assessment Type (Diagnostic and Screening)
3.6. Evidence Mapping of Study Discordance
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
| APD | antepartum depression |
| TSH | thyroid-stimulating hormone |
| FT3 | free triiodothyronine |
| FT4 | free thyroxine |
References
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| Study | Country | Type of Study | Mean ± SD Age (Years) | APD Diagnostic Tool | Number of APD/C | Pregnancy Weeks | Single APD/C (%) | Unemployed APD/C (%) | NOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aishwarya 2025 [21] | India | CS | 26.7 ± 3.9 | EPDS | 92/308 | Third trimester | 33%/28% | 86%/92% | 7 |
| Bunevicius 2009 [15] | Lithuania | P | 29 ± 5 | SCID-NP | 7/192 | 32–36 weeks | 1% (combined) | 15.5% (combined) | 7 |
| Ma 2024 [22] | China | CS | 27.72 ± 1.23 | HADS | 22/20 | Late pregnancy | 9%/5% | - | 6 |
| Wissart 2005 [23] | Jamaica | CS | 27 | Zung self-rating | 23/25 | 35 week | 61%/56% | 35%/40% | 6 |
| Study | Normalized Thyroid Status | Outcome Assessment Rigor | Evidence Classification | Key Effect Modifier Identified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aishwarya 2025 [21] | General/Mixed Population | Screening (EPDS, ≥13) | Conditional TSH was significantly associated with symptom severity (rho = 0.25, p = 0.01). | Extreme socioeconomic stress (86–92% unemployment) |
| Bunevicius 2009 [15] | General/Mixed Population | Gold-standard (SCID-NP) | Conditional Found depressed women had significantly higher FT4 (p = 0.04) and a trend toward lower TSH (p = 0.062). | High diagnostic rigor; Found association only in late pregnancy; TPOAb did not correlate, small case group (N = 7) |
| Ma 2024 [22] | Confirmed Hypothyroid | Screening (HADS) | Absent | Clinical management of thyroid status, Cohort was receiving standard L-T4 treatment, stabilizing thyroid status |
| Wissart 2005 [23] | General/Mixed Population | Screening (Zung) | Strong | Marital Status (94% Single) |
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Holbanel, L.-M.; Dragota, R.S.; Popescu, M.; Glavan, D.G.; Pirlog, M.C.; Turcu-Stiolica, A. No Concurrent Association Found Between Maternal Thyroid Hormone Concentrations (TSH, FT4, FT3) and Antepartum Depression in Late Pregnancy: A Meta-Analysis Highlighting the Need for Categorical Risk Assessment. Psychiatry Int. 2026, 7, 53. https://doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint7020053
Holbanel L-M, Dragota RS, Popescu M, Glavan DG, Pirlog MC, Turcu-Stiolica A. No Concurrent Association Found Between Maternal Thyroid Hormone Concentrations (TSH, FT4, FT3) and Antepartum Depression in Late Pregnancy: A Meta-Analysis Highlighting the Need for Categorical Risk Assessment. Psychiatry International. 2026; 7(2):53. https://doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint7020053
Chicago/Turabian StyleHolbanel, Larisa-Mihaela, Ruxandra Stefania Dragota, Mihaela Popescu, Daniela Gabriela Glavan, Mihail Cristian Pirlog, and Adina Turcu-Stiolica. 2026. "No Concurrent Association Found Between Maternal Thyroid Hormone Concentrations (TSH, FT4, FT3) and Antepartum Depression in Late Pregnancy: A Meta-Analysis Highlighting the Need for Categorical Risk Assessment" Psychiatry International 7, no. 2: 53. https://doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint7020053
APA StyleHolbanel, L.-M., Dragota, R. S., Popescu, M., Glavan, D. G., Pirlog, M. C., & Turcu-Stiolica, A. (2026). No Concurrent Association Found Between Maternal Thyroid Hormone Concentrations (TSH, FT4, FT3) and Antepartum Depression in Late Pregnancy: A Meta-Analysis Highlighting the Need for Categorical Risk Assessment. Psychiatry International, 7(2), 53. https://doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint7020053

