Perinatal mental illness and autoimmune diseases: a qualitative sistematic review

Introduction: The term "perinatal mental illness" refers to the set of psychiatric disorders that occur during pregnancy and up to one year after childbirth. The disorders that occurred before pregnancy along with the disorders that emerge during pregnancy or in the postpartum period are all considered perinatal mental illnesses. The causes of prenatal mental illness are still unknown. However, recent studies have shown a major risk in patients with autoimmune diseases. Evidence acquisition: We performed a comprehensive search of relevant studies from february 2000 to dicember 2021 to ensure all possible studies were captured. A systematic search of Pubmed databases was conducted. We selected 'autoimmune disease' as the search term, combining with 'perinatal mental illness', 'perinatal depression' or 'postpartum anxiety' or 'postpartum psychosis' or 'bipolar disorder' or 'postpartum blues'. Evidence synthesis: The results of our review show that patients with perinatal mental illness have higher risks of subsequent autoimmune diseases. In fact, when a woman develop perinatal mental illness, accurate counseling can be employed: on the one hand, the woman should be send to the psychiatrist, on the other hand she has to be informed about the increased risk of a future developement of autoimmune disease. Conclusions: As described in the literature, correlation between perinatal mental illness and autoimmune disease could bring new diagnostic opportunities, relevant for practical decisions. Further studies need to confirm the correlation between perinatal mental illness and autoimmune disease.