Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have uncovered a substantial genetic component to postpartum psychosis, a rare but severe psychiatric illness that occurs in the days to weeks after childbirth. The findings, published in Molecular Psychiatry, provide new evidence that the condition has a substantial biological and genetic basis and may help guide future research into prediction, prevention, and treatment.
The study, which combined whole genome sequencing with population-level family data, identified rare damaging mutations in the gene HMGCR as associated with increased risk for postpartum psychosis.
The researchers also found significant genetic overlap between postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and several autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, myasthenia gravis, and Crohn's disease.
Postpartum psychosis affects approximately one in 1,000 mothers and is considered a psychiatric emergency because of the elevated risk of suicide and infanticide. Symptoms can include delusions, hallucinations, severe mood changes, confusion, and disorganized behavior.
"Our findings show that postpartum psychosis is a biological illness with a substantial genetic basis," said Behrang Mahjani, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, Genetics and Genomic Sciences and Artificial Intelligence and Human Health at the Icahn School of Medicine and senior author of the paper.
