Trans-generational stress regulation: Mother-infant cortisol and maternal mental health across the perinatal period
- Authors: Galbally, Megan , van Rossum, Elisabeth , Watson, Stuart , de Kloet, Edo , Lewis, Andrew
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Psychoneuroendocrinology Vol. 109, no. (2019), p. 104374-104374
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- Description: •Antenatal depression and cortisol may be important for developing infant stress regulation.•Hair cortisol concentrations are useful for measuring cortisol in pregnancy and the postpartum.•Maternal hair cortisol concentration across pregnancy was not associated with maternal depression.•Antenatal maternal depressive symptoms were both associated with lower infant cortisol at 12 months of age.•Lower infant cortisol reactivity was associated with higher infant externalizing symptoms. Understanding maternal mental health and cortisol regulation across pregnancy and the relationship to the development of the offspring’s stress regulation is critical to a range of health outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate infant and maternal cortisol in women with depression. Data were obtained from 241 pregnant women within the Mercy Pregnancy and Emotional Wellbeing Study (MPEWS), a selected pregnancy cohort study. Depression was measured using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-IV) and repeat Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Repeated measures of antidepressant use, stressful events, anxiety symptoms and maternal hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) and infant cortisol at 12 months postpartum in saliva and hair. Socio-emotional outcomes were measured at 12 months by maternal report on the Brief Infant and Toddler Socio-emotional Assessment (BITSEA). This study found that maternal depression was not associated with maternal HCC. Anxiety, stress and antidepressant use were not associated with maternal HCC. Independently, higher maternal 3rd trimester maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms were associated with lower infant cortisol response at 12 months of age. A higher number of postpartum stressful events was associated with lower infant cortisol response. Lower infant stress reactivity was associated with higher externalizing symptoms at 12 months of age. Future studies are required to understand implications for later mental health.
The role of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptor DNA methylation in antenatal depression and infant stress regulation
- Authors: Galbally, Megan , Watson, Stuart , van Ijzendoorn, Marinus , Saffery, Richard , Ryan, Joanne , de Kloet, Edo Ronald , Oberlander, Tim , Lappas, Martha , Lewis, Andrew
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Psychoneuroendocrinology Vol. 115, no. (2020), p. 104611
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- Description: •Maternal depression is associated with lower infant cortisol reactivity.•Early pregnancy depression is associated with reduced placental NR3C2 DNA methylation.•No association of maternal depression and cortisol with placental or infant buccal NR3C1 DNA methylation.•No association of antidepressant use with cortisol and placental or infant buccal NR3C1 and NR3C2 DNA methylation.•Association between infant cortisol reactivity and maternal depression was suppressed by placental NR3C2 DNA methylation. Understanding fetal programming pathways that underpin the relationship between maternal and offspring mental health necessitates an exploration of potential role of epigenetic variation in early development. Two genes involved in stress response regulation, the glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors (NR3C1 and NR3C2) have been a focus in understanding stressful exposures and mental health outcomes. Data were obtained from 236 pregnant women from the Mercy Pregnancy Emotional Wellbeing Study (MPEWS), a selected pregnancy cohort, recruited in early pregnancy. Depression was measured using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-IV) and repeated measures of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Antidepressant use, stressful events and anxiety symptoms were measured. NR3C1 and NR3C2 DNA methylation was measured in placental and infant buccal samples. Infant cortisol was measured in repeat saliva samples across a task. This study found maternal early pregnancy depressive disorder and symptoms were associated with lower DNA methylation at NR3C2 CpG_24 in placental tissue. There were no significant differences for depression or antidepressant use for DNA methylation of NR3C1. Antenatal depression was associated with lower infant cortisol reactivity at 12 months. DNA methylation in CpG_24 site in NR3C2 in placental samples suppressed the relationship between early maternal depressive symptoms and infant cortisol reactivity. These findings show a relationship between antenatal depression, NR3C2 DNA methylation and infant cortisol response providing support for a specific fetal programming pathway. Further research is required to examine the stability of this epigenetic mark across childhood and long-term mental health outcomes.
Maternal attachment state of mind and perinatal emotional wellbeing : findings from a pregnancy cohort study
- Authors: Galbally, Megan , Watson, Stuart , Lewis, Andrew , Power, Josephine , Buus, Niels , van Ijzendoorn, Marinus
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Affective Disorders Vol. 333, no. (2023), p. 297-304
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- Description: Objectives: Maternal attachment state of mind is an important potential predictor of risk and resilience to perinatal emotional wellbeing and early parenting. To explore maternal attachment in relation to perinatal depression and emotional wellbeing. Methods: This study drew on data collected within an ongoing cohort from 170 women recruited in early pregnancy, including 67 who met criteria for Major Depression. Maternal attachment state of mind was assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) in pregnancy. Additional measures included the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM (SCID), at 12 months the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP), Child Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Parenting Stress Index, and antenatal maternal hair cortisol concentrations (HCC). Limitations: Sample size to be able to undertake all analyses using the 4 way classifications, cortisol measurement is limited to hair only and there is no prospectively collected measure of childhood trauma in mothers. Conclusions: This study found that maternal attachment, specifically the Non-Autonomous states of mind, adjusted for clinical depression, was associated with higher cortisol in pregnancy and higher depressive symptoms across pregnancy and the postpartum. Furthermore, separately those with depression and Non-Autonomous states of mind also had higher postpartum parenting stress. There was no significant intergenerational concordance between AAI and SSP attachment classifications. Our findings support future research exploring the role of maternal attachment state of mind in understanding perinatal depression and emotional wellbeing. © 2023 The Author(s)