Clinical and Behavioral Outcomes During 4 Weeks of Home-Based Self-Administered Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Perinatal Women With Depressive Symptoms: Open-Label Exploratory Pilot Study

BACKGROUND: Depression during the perinatal period poses significant risks to both maternal and infant health. Although transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has shown promise as a safe and well-tolerated intervention for perinatal depression, empirical evidence remains limited, and no prior study has integrated clinical outcomes with continuous objective behavioral monitoring. OBJECTIVE: This pilot study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary effects of home-based tDCS combined with wearable monitoring in women with perinatal depression and to explore the correlation between behavioral and clinical measures. METHODS: In total, 38 perinatal women completed a 4-week self-administered tDCS protocol targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) with 30-minute daily sessions. Participants continuously wore a wrist device (Fitbit Inspire 2) that passively collected data on the step count, distance traveled, calorie expenditure, and heart rate. Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline (week 0), midintervention (week 2), and postintervention (week 4) using the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Linear mixed models (LMMs) and nonparametric tests were used to evaluate changes over time, and correlations between behavioral and clinical variables were analyzed. RESULTS: Significant reductions were observed in depressive symptoms from baseline to postintervention. Mean MADRS scores decreased from 21.3 (SD 5.2) at baseline to 12.3 (SD 8.5) at week 4 (P