Dept. of Psychiatry, Sisli Etfal Teaching and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. basakaykan@ttmail.com
BACKGROUND: Postpartum depression may present with somatic complaints. However, all somatic symptoms do not indicate a possible depression diagnosis. One of the clinical pictures related to physical complaints is osteoporosis in late pregnancy and lactation (PLO); this is a rare disorder, and its pathophysiology remains unknown. OBJECTIVE: The authors report here a case of PLO and depression in a 35-year-old primiparous patient with acute low back pain and postpartum depression 4 weeks after caesarean section. METHOD: Diagnosis was made by DXA scan and magnetic resonance imaging. Depression was assessed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. RESULTS: The patient achieved pain relief through treatment with calcium, vitamin D, calcitonin, weekly alendronate, and venlafaxine for depression. CONCLUSION: PLO and depression may have a common etiopathogenesis that needs further investigation.