(804) Perinatal Health Perception Moderates Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Perinatal depression often remains undertreated due to concerns regarding antidepressant exposure during fertility treatment, pregnancy, or breastfeeding. Non-pharmacological, home-deliverable interventions such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) present a promising alternative; however, real-world evidence in perinatal populations remains limited.


Study Design:

This prospective observational study included 38 women who received infertility, pregnancy, or postpartum treatment at four x hospitals in South Korea. The participants self-administered anodal tDCS targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for 20–28 sessions over four weeks. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) at baseline and at weeks 2, 4, and 8. Subjective health perception was measured at baseline using a 5-point Likert scale.


Results:

Time had a significant effect on depressive symptoms (Wald χ² = 90.75, p < 0.001), with the largest symptom reduction observed during the first two weeks. The CES-D scores remained significantly lower than baseline at week 8, four weeks after treatment ended. Subjective health perception was significantly associated with baseline depression severity (Wald χ² = 26.41, p < 0.001), and its interaction with time was also significant (Wald χ² = 320.18, p < 0.001). Participants with poorer perceived health (scores 4–5) experienced greater reductions in depressive symptoms than those with more favorable perceptions (scores 1–2).


Conclusion:

Home-based tDCS was feasible and associated with clinically meaningful improvements in depressive symptoms among perinatal women. Those who initially perceived their health more negatively achieved a greater response, suggesting that subjective health perception may serve as a useful moderator and potential marker to inform personalized treatment strategies.