OBJECTIVE: In adults, one of the major determinants of leukocyte telomere length (LTL), a predictor of age-related diseases and mortality, is cumulative psychosocial stress exposure. More recently we reported that exposure to maternal psychosocial stress during intrauterine life is associated with LTL in young adulthood. The objective of the present study was to determine how early in life this effect of stress on LTL is apparent by quantifying the association of maternal psychosocial stress during pregnancy with newborn telomere length. STUDY DESIGN: In a prospective study of N = 27 mother-newborn dyads maternal pregnancy-specific stress was assessed in early gestation and cord blood peripheral blood mononuclear cells were subsequently collected and analyzed for LTL measurement. RESULTS: After accounting for the effects of potential determinants of newborn LTL (gestational age at birth, weight, sex, and exposure to antepartum obstetric complications), there was a significant, independent, linear effect of pregnancy-specific stress on newborn LTL that accounted for 25% of the variance in adjusted LTL (β = -0.099; P = .04). CONCLUSION: Our finding provides the first preliminary evidence in human beings that maternal psychological stress during pregnancy may exert a "programming" effect on the developing telomere biology system that is already apparent at birth, as reflected by the setting of newborn LTL.
OBJECTIVE: In adults, one of the major determinants of leukocyte telomere length (LTL), a predictor of age-related diseases and mortality, is cumulative psychosocial stress exposure. More recently we reported that exposure to maternal psychosocial stress during intrauterine life is associated with LTL in young adulthood. The objective of the present study was to determine how early in life this effect of stress on LTL is apparent by quantifying the association of maternal psychosocial stress during pregnancy with newborn telomere length. STUDY DESIGN: In a prospective study of N = 27 mother-newborn dyads maternal pregnancy-specific stress was assessed in early gestation and cord blood peripheral blood mononuclear cells were subsequently collected and analyzed for LTL measurement. RESULTS: After accounting for the effects of potential determinants of newborn LTL (gestational age at birth, weight, sex, and exposure to antepartum obstetric complications), there was a significant, independent, linear effect of pregnancy-specific stress on newborn LTL that accounted for 25% of the variance in adjusted LTL (β = -0.099; P = .04). CONCLUSION: Our finding provides the first preliminary evidence in human beings that maternal psychological stress during pregnancy may exert a "programming" effect on the developing telomere biology system that is already apparent at birth, as reflected by the setting of newborn LTL.
Authors: Janice Humphreys; Elissa S Epel; Bruce A Cooper; Jue Lin; Elizabeth H Blackburn; Kathryn A Lee Journal: Biol Res Nurs Date: 2011-03-08 Impact factor: 2.522
Authors: Athanase Benetos; Jeffrey P Gardner; Mahmoud Zureik; Carlos Labat; Lu Xiaobin; Chris Adamopoulos; Mohamed Temmar; Kathryn E Bean; Frédérique Thomas; Abraham Aviv Journal: Hypertension Date: 2004-01-19 Impact factor: 10.190
Authors: Veryan Codd; Massimo Mangino; Pim van der Harst; Peter S Braund; Michael Kaiser; Alan J Beveridge; Suzanne Rafelt; Jasbir Moore; Chris Nelson; Nicole Soranzo; Guangju Zhai; Ana M Valdes; Hannah Blackburn; Irene Mateo Leach; Rudolf A de Boer; Masayuki Kimura; Abraham Aviv; Alison H Goodall; Willem Ouwehand; Dirk J van Veldhuisen; Wiek H van Gilst; Gerjan Navis; Paul R Burton; Martin D Tobin; Alistair S Hall; John R Thompson; Tim Spector; Nilesh J Samani Journal: Nat Genet Date: 2010-02-07 Impact factor: 38.330
Authors: Christopher W Jones; Kyle C Esteves; Sarah A O Gray; Tegan N Clarke; Keegan Callerame; Katherine P Theall; Stacy S Drury Journal: Psychoneuroendocrinology Date: 2019-03-22 Impact factor: 4.905
Authors: Claudia Lazarides; Elissa S Epel; Jue Lin; Elizabeth H Blackburn; Manuel C Voelkle; Claudia Buss; Hyagriv N Simhan; Pathik D Wadhwa; Sonja Entringer Journal: Brain Behav Immun Date: 2019-04-08 Impact factor: 7.217
Authors: Line Hjort; Regan Vryer; Louise G Grunnet; David Burgner; Sjurdur F Olsen; Richard Saffery; Allan Vaag Journal: Diabetologia Date: 2018-01-23 Impact factor: 10.122