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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Perinatal Psychiatry
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1302174

The effect of Curcumax on postpartum women's depression: A randomized controlled trial

Provisionally accepted
Fatemeh Nikpour Fatemeh Nikpour 1Somayeh Ansari Somayeh Ansari 1Parvin Abedi Parvin Abedi 1*Shayesteh Jahanfar Shayesteh Jahanfar 2Naeim Sharifat Naeim Sharifat 1Gholamreza Houshmand Gholamreza Houshmand 1Elham Maraghi Elham Maraghi 1
  • 1 Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Khuzestan, Iran
  • 2 School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Postpartum depression is a major psychiatric disorder that affects the motherbaby attachment and may impair cognitive development of the child.Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of curcumax (including ginger, turmeric, and black pepper) on postpartum depression in reproductive-aged women.This was a randomized controlled trial in which 124 women were recruited and randomly assigned into two groups of curcumax (n=62) and placebo (n=62) who consumed curcumax or placebo for 8 weeks (one capsule each day). Postpartum depression was measured using Edinburgh Depression Scale. Data were analyzed using Chi-square, independent t-test, ANOVA, and GEE.The mean (SD) score of depression score was 15.83 (2.77) and 15.45 (2.97) before intervention, which reduced to 3.48 (4.29) and 7.22 (3.98) in the intervention and control groups, respectively after 4 weeks (p<0.0001). After eight weeks of intervention, these scores reduced to 1.72 (3.30) and 5.85 (3.67) in the intervention and control groups, respectively (p<0.0001).The results of this study showed that curcumax significantly reduced the mean score of postpartum depression among reproductive-aged women. Because it is the first time this herb was used as an anti-depressant, its effective dose was not available. Therefore, further studies with higher doses of this herb are recommended.

    Keywords: Curcumax, postpartum depression, Edinburgh scale, Reproductive-aged women, Ginger, turmeric, Black Pepper

    Received: 26 Sep 2023; Accepted: 31 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Nikpour, Ansari, Abedi, Jahanfar, Sharifat, Houshmand and Maraghi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Parvin Abedi, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, 56131-56491, Khuzestan, Iran

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.