Bright Light Treats Depression During Pregnancy Without Drugs
By Laurie Barclay, M.D.
Originally published by MedscapeWire, April 25, 2002
NEW YORK (MedscapeWire) — Because antidepressant use during pregnancy is controversial, there have been few treatment options for the 5% of pregnant women who meet criteria for major depression. These women may respond to bright light therapy in the morning, according to results of an open trial published in the April issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
"The availability of an easy-to-use, potentially non-toxic antidepressant—light therapy—in pregnancy is a clinically attractive option," lead author Dan A. Oren, MD, from Yale University School of Medicine, in New Haven, Connecticut, told Reuters Health.
For 3 to 5 weeks, 16 pregnant patients with major depression received bright light therapy for 1 hour after awakening in the morning and showed no evidence of adverse effects. On the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Seasonal Affective Disorders Version, mean depression ratings improved by 49% after 3 weeks of treatment and by 59% in the 7 patients who had 5 weeks of treatment.
"The exact mechanism has not been elucidated," Oren said. "Some data suggest that light therapy advances the timing of the daily biological clock, which may then bring about the antidepressant effect."
Pending the results of a randomized, controlled trial, the authors conclude that morning light therapy has an antidepressant effect during pregnancy. Follow-up trials are under way at Yale University, Columbia University in New York City, and the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
