N M Molenaar1, H Tiemeier2, E F C van Rossum3, M H J Hillegers4, C L H Bockting5, W J G Hoogendijk1, E L van den Akker6, M P Lambregtse-van den Berg7, H El Marroun8. 1. The Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 2. The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center, Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; The Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA. 3. The Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 4. The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center, Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 5. The Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 6. The Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 7. The Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center, Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 8. The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center, Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; The Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; The Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: h.marrounel@erasmusmc.nl.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Intrauterine exposures such as maternal psychopathology and stress are known to influence the physical and mental health of the offspring. One of the proposed pathways underlying these associations is dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity in the offspring. This study examined the relation of perinatal maternal symptoms of psychopathology and stress with offspring HPA axis activity at 6 years as measured by hair cortisol and cortisone concentrations. METHODS: The study was part of the population-based Generation R Study, a prospective population-based cohort from fetal life onwards. 2546 children and their mothers formed the study population. Perinatal maternal psychopathology and stress were assessed by questionnaires in the second and third trimester. Principal components for both psychopathology and stress were created to reduce the number of explanatory variables. Child hair samples for cortisol and cortisone measurements were collected at the age of 6. Linear regression analysis, adjusted for covariates, was used to examine associations between maternal psychopathology and stress and child hair cortisol and cortisone levels. RESULTS: The maternal psychopathology principal component was associated with higher child hair cortisone (adjusted B = 0.24, 95%CI 0.08;0.40, p-value < 0.01). Effect estimates of the individual dimensions ranged from 0.97 (95%CI 0.21;1.73, p-value = 0.01) for interpersonal sensitivity to 1.67 (95%CI 0.86;2.47, p-value < 0.01) for paranoid ideation. In addition, children exposed to intrauterine stress, as measured by the principal component, had higher hair cortisone levels (adjusted B = 0.54, 95%CI 0.21;0.88, p-value < 0.01). Exposure to maternal psychopathology and stress was not associated with offspring hair cortisol. Stratification by child sex resulted in associations between maternal symptoms of psychopathology during pregnancy and child hair cortisone levels in boys and associations between maternal symptoms of stress during pregnancy and child hair cortisone levels in girls. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that maternal psychopathology and stress during pregnancy are associated with long-term HPA axis activity of the offspring. The association of maternal psychopathology and stress during pregnancy with offspring hair cortisone levels is a novel finding. Future studies should examine whether these psychophysiological differences between exposed and non-exposed children underlie offspring morbidity associated with maternal psychopathology and stress during pregnancy.
OBJECTIVE: Intrauterine exposures such as maternal psychopathology and stress are known to influence the physical and mental health of the offspring. One of the proposed pathways underlying these associations is dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity in the offspring. This study examined the relation of perinatal maternal symptoms of psychopathology and stress with offspring HPA axis activity at 6 years as measured by hair cortisol and cortisone concentrations. METHODS: The study was part of the population-based Generation R Study, a prospective population-based cohort from fetal life onwards. 2546 children and their mothers formed the study population. Perinatal maternal psychopathology and stress were assessed by questionnaires in the second and third trimester. Principal components for both psychopathology and stress were created to reduce the number of explanatory variables. Child hair samples for cortisol and cortisone measurements were collected at the age of 6. Linear regression analysis, adjusted for covariates, was used to examine associations between maternal psychopathology and stress and child hair cortisol and cortisone levels. RESULTS: The maternal psychopathology principal component was associated with higher child hair cortisone (adjusted B = 0.24, 95%CI 0.08;0.40, p-value < 0.01). Effect estimates of the individual dimensions ranged from 0.97 (95%CI 0.21;1.73, p-value = 0.01) for interpersonal sensitivity to 1.67 (95%CI 0.86;2.47, p-value < 0.01) for paranoid ideation. In addition, children exposed to intrauterine stress, as measured by the principal component, had higher hair cortisone levels (adjusted B = 0.54, 95%CI 0.21;0.88, p-value < 0.01). Exposure to maternal psychopathology and stress was not associated with offspring hair cortisol. Stratification by child sex resulted in associations between maternal symptoms of psychopathology during pregnancy and child hair cortisone levels in boys and associations between maternal symptoms of stress during pregnancy and child hair cortisone levels in girls. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that maternal psychopathology and stress during pregnancy are associated with long-term HPA axis activity of the offspring. The association of maternal psychopathology and stress during pregnancy with offspring hair cortisone levels is a novel finding. Future studies should examine whether these psychophysiological differences between exposed and non-exposed children underlie offspring morbidity associated with maternal psychopathology and stress during pregnancy.
Authors: Nicola Wright; Andrew Pickles; Elizabeth C Braithwaite; Helen Sharp; Jonathan Hill Journal: Psychoneuroendocrinology Date: 2019-08-14 Impact factor: 4.905
Authors: Carlinde W Broeks; Vandhana Choenni; Rianne Kok; Bibian van der Voorn; Ineke de Kruijff; Erica L T van den Akker; Elisabeth F C van Rossum; Witte J G Hoogendijk; Manon H J Hillegers; Astrid M Kamperman; Mijke P Lambregtse-Van den Berg Journal: BJPsych Open Date: 2021-01-07