{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T17:08:42Z","timestamp":1789664922223,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,4]],"date-time":"2025-07-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1751587200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JPM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Postpartum depression (PPD) affects approximately 10\u201320% of women during and after pregnancy, posing significant risks to maternal health, infant development, and family dynamics. Identifying modifiable risk factors is essential for prevention. Emerging evidence suggests that vitamin D, a neuroactive steroid hormone involved in neurotransmitter synthesis, neuroinflammation regulation, and calcium homeostasis, may play a protective role against mood disorders, including PPD. Methods: The search was conducted through a comprehensive search of the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases using a combination of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and free-text terms including \u201cvitamin D\u201d, \u201c25-hydroxyvitamin D\u201d, \u201cdeficiency\u201d, \u201cpregnancy\u201d, \u201cpostpartum\u201d, \u201cdepression\u201d, \u201cantenatal depression\u201d, \u201cmaternal mental health\u201d, and \u201cperinatal mood disorders\u201d. Results: Numerous observational studies and systematic review reports around the world reinforce the potential global relevance of vitamin D insufficiency. This study advances personalized and precision medicine approaches by emphasizing the importance of individualized screening for vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and postpartum, enabling tailored interventions that could mitigate the risk of postpartum depression. Conclusions: In conclusion, while a definitive causal relationship between vitamin D deficiency and perinatal depression remains unproven, screening for vitamin D levels during pregnancy could serve as a low-risk intervention to support maternal mental health. Future research should focus on well designed, large-scale randomized trials and standardization of diagnostic criteria to clarify vitamin D\u2019s role in preventing perinatal depression. Recognizing vitamin D status as a modifiable biomarker allows for targeted nutritional and pharmacological strategies to optimize maternal mental health.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jpm15070290","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,4]],"date-time":"2025-07-04T04:51:17Z","timestamp":1751604677000},"page":"290","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Relationship Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Postpartum Depression"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-8358-4826","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ioanna","family":"Apostolidou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Midwifery, International Hellenic University, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marios","family":"Baloukas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiotherapy, International Hellenic University, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1439-3920","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ioannis","family":"Tsamesidis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Midwifery, International Hellenic University, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece"},{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, International Hellenic University, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"287","article-title":"Postpartum depression: An update","volume":"5","author":"Friedman","year":"2009","journal-title":"Women\u2019s Health"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"280","DOI":"10.4103\/ijnmr.ijnmr_163_22","article-title":"The Association between Post-Partum Depression and Nutrition and Dietary Patterns: Systematic Review","volume":"29","author":"Ghaedrahmati","year":"2024","journal-title":"Iran. 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