To explore the correlation between estrogen receptor (ER) gene polymorphism and perinatal depression (PND).

From February 2014 to February 2015, a total of 108 cases of Guangzhou Han pregnant women in Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University were selected as research object. And their parents all were Guangzhou local Han people. In the first trimester (11-14 gestational weeks), the third trimester (32-36 gestational weeks) and postpartum period (7 and 42 days), Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) were performed on all the pregnant women for psychological evaluation. And the scores all were evaluated by 2 psychiatric professional evaluation technicians in our hospital. And those with SDS scores >53 points and HAMD scores ≥8 points were further diagnosed by psychiatric professional attending physician in our hospital according to the Chinese Classification and Diagnostic Criteria of Mental Disorders Third Edition (CCMD-3). According to the 108 pregnant women were with PND or not, they were divided into PND group (n=54) and control group (n=54) by retrospective method. Polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism method was used to analyze the differences between Pvu-Ⅱ and Xba-Ⅰ polymorphism of ERα gene or the differences between Rsa-Ⅰ and Alu-Ⅰ polymorphism of ERβ gene. The genotype and allele frequency of Pvu-Ⅱ and Xba-Ⅰ polymorphism of ERα gene and Rsa-Ⅰ, Alu-Ⅰ polymorphism of ERβ gene were statistically compared. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University. All the pregnant women signed the informed consent before study. There were no statistical differences between two groups in the age, gestational age, body weight, parity, gravidity and so on (P>0.05).

①Among the 54 cases of PND patients in PND group, 18.5% (10/54), 29.6% (16/54), 25.9% (14/54) and 25.9% (14/54) were diagnosed as PND in the first trimester, third trimester, postpartum 7 days and postpartum 42 days, respectively. ②There was statistically significant difference between two groups in the frequency of Pvu-Ⅱ genotype (pp, Pp, PP) of ERα gene (χ²=6.10, P=0.047). And the P allele frequency of PND group was 37.0% (40/108), which was higher than 24.1% (26/108) of control group, and the difference was also statistically significant (χ²=4.28, P=0.039). But there were no statistically significant differences between two groups in the frequency of Xba-Ⅰgenotype (xx, Xx, XX) and allelic genes (X, x) of ERα gene (χ²= 1.44, P=0.487; χ²= 0.79, P=0.375). ③There was statistically significant difference between two groups in the frequency of Alu-Ⅰ genotype (aa, Aa, AA) of ERβ gene (χ²= 6.85, P=0.030). And the A allele frequency of PND group was 33.3% (36/108), which was higher than 17.6% (19/108) of control group, and the difference was also statistically significant (χ²= 4.62, P=0.032). But there were no statistically significant differences between two groups in the frequency of Rsa-Ⅰ genotype (rr, Rr, RR) and allelic genes (r, R) of ERβ gene (χ²=0.20, P=0.910; χ²=0.08, P=0.785).

The Pvu-Ⅱ polymorphism of ERα gene and Alu-Ⅰ polymorphism of ERβ gene may be related to the susceptibility of PND in Chinese Han women in Guangzhou. And the genotype of A and P alleles may increase the risk of PND. The Xba-Ⅰ polymorphisms of ERα gene and Rsa-Ⅰ polymorphism of ERβ gene are not associated with the risk of PND in Chinese Han women in Guangzhou.