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Moody SN, Phan JM, Shirtcliff EA, Wang W, Drury S, Theall K. Transgenerational effect of Mothers' experiences of discrimination on Black youths' hormone coupling in response to laboratory stress. RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 2023; 20:25-47. [PMID: 37484485 PMCID: PMC10358998 DOI: 10.1080/15427609.2023.2215130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to pervasive racial discrimination of Black Americans is transgenerational in that mothers' experiences of discriminatory violence impacts their children. This study explored whether stress-related biomarkers reflect transgenerational racial stress by implementing a "dual activation" framework to probe how adrenal and gonadal hormones underlying adolescent development are co-regulated during a laboratory stressor. Data were collected from 120 Black families in the United States. Children completed the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST-C) and provided 4 saliva samples across 2 days that were assayed for cortisol (C), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and testosterone (T). Mothers reported their experiences of total discrimination and racial discrimination related to skin color/race. Thirty four percent reported experiences of discrimination and on average 46.7% reported experiences of discrimination due to their race or skin tone. Mothers' experiences of racial discrimination were associated with their child's hormonal reactivity to and recovery from the TSST-C. Youth showed stronger positive hormone coupling between C-T if their mother experienced greater discrimination. Mothers' experiences of racial discrimination influenced both C-T coupling and youths' cortisol recovery from the TSST-C. For youths with high testosterone, cortisol recovery was blunted. Results suggest that associations between racism and hormonal stress response may be transgenerational. Mothers' experiences of discrimination had a profound impact on their children's hormonal co-regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannin N. Moody
- Department of Neurology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans (LA), USA
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University, Ames, (IA), USA
| | - Jenny M. Phan
- Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Children’s National Hospital, Washington (D.C.) USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Shirtcliff
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene (OR), USA
| | - Wen Wang
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene (OR), USA
| | - Stacy Drury
- Department of Pediatrics, Tulane University, New Orleans, (LA), USA
| | - Katherine Theall
- Departments of Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences and Epidemiology, Tulane University, New Orleans, (LA), USA
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Fung MH, Taylor BK, Embury CM, Spooner RK, Johnson HJ, Willett MP, Frenzel MR, Badura-Brack AS, White SF, Wilson TW. Cortisol changes in healthy children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stress 2022; 25:323-330. [PMID: 36168664 PMCID: PMC9744629 DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2022.2125798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused massive disruptions to daily life in the United States, closing schools and businesses and increasing physical and social isolation, leading to deteriorations in mental health and well-being in people of all ages. Many studies have linked chronic stress with long-term changes in cortisol secretion, which has been implicated in many stress-related physical and mental health problems that commonly emerge in adolescence. However, the physiological consequences of the pandemic in youth remain understudied. Using hair cortisol concentrations (HCC), we quantified average longitudinal changes in cortisol secretion across a four-month period capturing before, during, and after the transition to pandemic-lockdown conditions in a sample of healthy youth (n = 49). Longitudinal changes in HCC were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models. Perceived levels of pandemic-related stress were measured and compared to the physiological changes in HCC. In children and adolescents, cortisol levels significantly increased across the course of the pandemic. These youth reported a multitude of stressors during this time, although changes in HCC were not associated with self-reported levels of COVID-19-related distress. We provide evidence that youth are experiencing significant physiological changes in cortisol activity across the COVID-19 pandemic, yet these biological responses are not associated with perceived stress levels. Youth may be especially vulnerable to the deleterious impacts of chronic cortisol exposure due to their current status in the sensitive periods for development, and the incongruency between biological and psychological stress responses may further complicate these developmental problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madison H. Fung
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Brittany K. Taylor
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Christine M. Embury
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Rachel K. Spooner
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Hallie J. Johnson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Madelyn P. Willett
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Michaela R. Frenzel
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | | | - Stuart F. White
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Tony W. Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA
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Laviola G, Leonardo A, Ceci FM, Fiore M. Callous unemotional trait-like mice and their stressed dams. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2021; 131:105296. [PMID: 34175559 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The co-occurrence of excess rates of aggression, general violation of societal norms and callous-unemotional trait confers specific risk for adult psychopathy. With the aim to address experimentally a model of conduct disorder, we investigated the male offspring of individual mouse dams characterized by high basal plasma corticosterone concentration (HC trait). Notably, classification indices correlated selectively in these females with quite poor maternal care devoted to their offspring. Contrary to their HC mothers, adult male offspring exhibited an integrated profile of dampened physiological reactivity to external stressors co-occurring poor sociability/emotional contagion, impaired punishment-induced memory, and exacerbated aggression. A significant reduction of glucocorticoid and opioid mu receptors' expression in frontal cortex of model HC offspring was also evidenced. Moreover, in the absence of changes in oxytocin receptor in behaviorally-relevant neural areas, we showed that intranasal oxytocin administration (0 or 20.0 µg/kg) selectively modulated specific components of the behavioral phenotype. Ultimately, current data support the notion that maternally-inoculated environmental stress early in development may represent a critical risk factor in disturbances characterised by abnormal aggression and excess callousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Laviola
- Reference Centre for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, Rome I-00161, Italy.
| | - Arianna Leonardo
- Reference Centre for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, Rome I-00161, Italy
| | - Flavio Maria Ceci
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University, Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Fiore
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology - IBBC - CNR, Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161 Rome, Italy
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Holochwost SJ, Towe-Goodman N, Rehder PD, Wang G, Mills-Koonce WR. Poverty, Caregiving, and HPA-Axis Activity in Early Childhood. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2020; 56:100898. [PMID: 32377027 PMCID: PMC7202478 DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2020.100898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The association between poverty and the activity of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis in early childhood is well established. Both ecological and transactional theories suggest that one way in which poverty may influence children's HPA-axis activity is through its effects on parents' behaviors, and over the past three decades a substantial literature has accumulated indicating that variations in these behaviors are associated with individual differences in young children's HPA-axis activity. More recent research suggests that non-parental caregiving behaviors are associated with HPA-axis activity in early childhood as well. Here we systematically review the literature on the association between both parental and non-parental caregiving behaviors in the context of poverty and the activity of the HPA-axis in early childhood. We conclude by noting commonalities across these two literatures and their implications for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven J. Holochwost
- Corresponding author: Science of Learning Institute Johns Hopkins University, 167 Krieger Hall, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, U.S.A. (410) 516-5983.
| | - Nissa Towe-Goodman
- Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, Sheryl-Mar North, Room 111, Campus Box 8040, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8040, U.S.A
| | - Peter D. Rehder
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of North Carolina Greensboro, 319 College Avenue, 248 Stone Building, Greensboro, NC 27412, U.S.A
| | - Guan Wang
- School of Education, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, 301K Peabody Hall, CB 3500, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3500, U.S.A
| | - W. Roger Mills-Koonce
- School of Education, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, 301K Peabody Hall, CB 3500, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3500, U.S.A
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Leve LD, Neiderhiser JM, Ganiban JM, Natsuaki MN, Shaw DS, Reiss D. The Early Growth and Development Study: A Dual-Family Adoption Study from Birth Through Adolescence. Twin Res Hum Genet 2019; 22:716-727. [PMID: 31526412 PMCID: PMC7056588 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2019.66] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS) is a prospective adoption study of birth parents, adoptive parents and adopted children (n = 561 adoptees). The original sample has been expanded to include siblings of the EGDS adoptees who were reared by the birth mother and assessed beginning at age 7 years (n = 217 biological children), and additional siblings in both the birth and adoptive family homes, recruited when the adoptees were 8-15 years old (n = 823). The overall study aims are to examine how family, peer and contextual processes affect child and adolescent adjustment, and to examine their interplay (mediation, moderation) with genetic influences. Adoptive and birth parents were originally recruited through adoption agencies located throughout the USA following the birth of a child. Assessments are ongoing and occurred in 9 month's intervals until the adoptees turned 3 years of age, and in 1 to 2 year intervals thereafter through age 15. Data collection includes the following primary constructs: child temperament, behavior problems, mental health, peer relations, executive functioning, school performance and health; birth and adoptive parent personality characteristics, mental health, health, context, substance use, parenting and marital relations; and the prenatal environment. Findings highlight the power of the adoption design to detect environmental influences on child development and provide evidence of complex interactions and correlations between genetic, prenatal environmental and postnatal environmental influences on a range of child outcomes. The study sample, procedures and an overview of findings are summarized and ongoing assessment activities are described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leslie D. Leve
- Prevention Science Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, 97403, USA
| | - Jenae M. Neiderhiser
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA
| | - Jody M. Ganiban
- Center for Family Research, George Washington University, Washington DC, 20037, USA
| | - Misaki N. Natsuaki
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, California, 92521, USA
| | - Daniel S. Shaw
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15260, USA
| | - David Reiss
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, 06519, USA
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Marceau K, Brick LA, Knopik VS, Reijneveld SA. Developmental Pathways from Genetic, Prenatal, Parenting and Emotional/Behavioral Risk to Cortisol Reactivity and Adolescent Substance Use: A TRAILS Study. J Youth Adolesc 2019; 49:17-31. [PMID: 31786769 DOI: 10.1007/s10964-019-01142-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2019] [Accepted: 09/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Cortisol reactivity is a frequently studied biomarker of substance use, though infrequently examined in adolescence. However, past research provides evidence that multiple developmental influences, including genetics and both prenatal and postnatal environmental influences, contribute both to cortisol reactivity and adolescent substance use. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of these earlier developmental influences on cortisol reactivity to a social stress challenge and adolescent substance use (smoking, alcohol, and marijuana use frequency assessed at age 16 years), using data from the TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS; N= 2230 adolescents, 51% female). Developmental pathways included polygenic risk, prenatal stress, warm parenting (age 11), and internalizing and externalizing problems (intercepts and change from 11-16 years). Cortisol reactivity was associated with smoking but not alcohol or marijuana use. Externalizing problems were the stronger predictor of adolescent substance use, but internalizing problems also had an important role. Prenatal stress and middle childhood parenting operated via middle childhood externalizing problems, and parenting also operated via trajectories of growth of externalizing problems in predicting adolescent substance use outcomes. Further, there were protective effects of internalizing problems for alcohol and marijuana use in the context of a more comprehensive model. These developmental influences did not attenuate the association of cortisol reactivity and smoking. These findings suggest a need to understand the broader developmental context regarding the impact of internalizing pathways to substance use, and that it is unlikely that cortisol reactivity and smoking are associated solely because of common developmental influences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristine Marceau
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, 225 Hanley Hall, 1202 West State St., West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
| | - Leslie A Brick
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Valerie S Knopik
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, 225 Hanley Hall, 1202 West State St., West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - S A Reijneveld
- Department of Health Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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Hernández‐Martínez C, Voltas Moreso N, Arija Val V, Jardí Piñana C, Bedmar Carretero C, Canals J. The role of maternal emotional states during pregnancy and early infancy on infant cortisol levels: A prospective study. INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/icd.2149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Hernández‐Martínez
- Departament de Psicologia, Centre de Recerca en Avaluació i Mesura de la ConductaUniversitat Rovira i Virli Tarragona Spain
| | - Nuria Voltas Moreso
- Departament de Psicologia, Centre de Recerca en Avaluació i Mesura de la ConductaUniversitat Rovira i Virli Tarragona Spain
| | - Victoria Arija Val
- Departament de Ciències Mèdiques Bàsiques, Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Pere VirgiliUniversitat Rovira i Virgili Tarragona Spain
| | - Cristina Jardí Piñana
- Departament de Ciències Mèdiques Bàsiques, Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Pere VirgiliUniversitat Rovira i Virgili Tarragona Spain
| | - Cristina Bedmar Carretero
- Departament de Ciències Mèdiques Bàsiques, Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Pere VirgiliUniversitat Rovira i Virgili Tarragona Spain
| | - Josefa Canals
- Departament de Psicologia, Centre de Recerca en Avaluació i Mesura de la ConductaUniversitat Rovira i Virli Tarragona Spain
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Send TS, Bardtke S, Gilles M, Wolf IAC, Sütterlin MW, Wudy SA, Wang R, Laucht M, Witt SH, Rietschel M, Streit F, Deuschle M. Prenatal maternal stress is associated with lower cortisol and cortisone levels in the first morning urine of 45-month-old children. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2019; 103:219-224. [PMID: 30711899 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2018] [Revised: 01/11/2019] [Accepted: 01/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Prenatal stress (PS) has been related to altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity later in life. So far, studies in children assessing HPA axis functioning have focused on salivary cortisol, reflecting daytime activity. The present work is part of a prospective study and aims to extend knowledge about the association between PS and HPA axis regulation in children. To do so, we investigated cortisol, cortisone, and the ratio cortisone/(cortisone + cortisol) in the first morning urine of 45-month-old children in relation to several measures of maternal stress during pregnancy. Urinary cortisol and cortisone were measured by online turbulent flow chromatography coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. PS was defined as: perceived stress for aim 1 (Perceived Stress Scale; n = 280); presence of self-reported (n = 371) and expert-rated psychopathology for aim 2 (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview; n = 281); continuous measures of anxiety and depression for exploratory aim 3 (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; n = 280). Aim 1: Perceived maternal PS showed negative associations with cortisol and cortisone levels. Aim 2: The presence of expert-rated maternal psychopathology was associated with reduced morning cortisone. Aim 3: Continuous measures of anxiety and depression showed negative associations with cortisol and cortisone levels. After correcting for multiple testing, perceived maternal PS (aim 1) and prenatal level of anxiety (aim 3) were significant predictors of children's urinary cortisol and cortisone in the morning (and, in the case of cortisone, also prenatal level of depression). The ratio cortisone/(cortisone + cortisol) as a global marker for the balance between the enzymes metabolizing cortisol to cortisone and vice versa (11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases type 1 and 2; 11β-HSD1 and 2) was not associated with any measure of maternal PS (aims 1-3). The present study provides insight into possible programming effects of PS on nocturnal HPA axis activity and a proxy of 11β-HSD in a large sample. The results suggest that the nocturnal rate of cortisol production is lower in children exposed to PS, but do not support the hypothesis of divergent 11β-HSD activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- T S Send
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany; Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Koblenz-Landau, Landau, Germany.
| | - S Bardtke
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany
| | - M Gilles
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany
| | - I A C Wolf
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany
| | - M W Sütterlin
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany
| | - S A Wudy
- Steroid Research and Mass Spectrometry Unit, Laboratory for Translational Hormone Analytics, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology, Center of Child and Adolescent Medicine, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - R Wang
- Steroid Research and Mass Spectrometry Unit, Laboratory for Translational Hormone Analytics, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology, Center of Child and Adolescent Medicine, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - M Laucht
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany and Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | - S H Witt
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - M Rietschel
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - F Streit
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - M Deuschle
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany
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Molenaar NM, Tiemeier H, van Rossum EFC, Hillegers MHJ, Bockting CLH, Hoogendijk WJG, van den Akker EL, Lambregtse-van den Berg MP, El Marroun H. Prenatal maternal psychopathology and stress and offspring HPA axis function at 6 years. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2019; 99:120-127. [PMID: 30223193 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2018] [Revised: 08/30/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- N M Molenaar
- The Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - H Tiemeier
- 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
| | - E F C van Rossum
- The Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - M H J Hillegers
- The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center, Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - C L H Bockting
- The Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - W J G Hoogendijk
- The Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - E L van den Akker
- The Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - M P Lambregtse-van den Berg
- 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
| | - H El Marroun
- 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.
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10
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Chen E, Brody GH, Miller GE. Childhood close family relationships and health. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 72:555-566. [PMID: 28880102 DOI: 10.1037/amp0000067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Emerging data suggest that during childhood, close family relationships can ameliorate the impact that adversity has on life span physical health. To explain this phenomenon, a developmental stress buffering model is proposed in which characteristics of family relationships including support, conflict, obligation, and parenting behaviors evolve and change from childhood to adolescence. Together, these characteristics govern whether childhood family relationships are on balance positive enough to fill a moderating role in which they mitigate the effects that childhood adversities have on physical health. The benefits of some family relationship characteristics are hypothesized to stay the same across childhood and adolescence (e.g., the importance of comfort and warmth from family relationships) whereas the benefits of other characteristics are hypothesized to change from childhood to adolescence (e.g., from a need for physical proximity to parents in early childhood to a need for parental availability in adolescence). In turn, close, positive family relationships in childhood operate via a variety of pathways, such as by reducing the impact that childhood stressors have on biological processes (e.g., inflammation) and on health behaviors that in turn can shape physical health over a lifetime. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
- Edith Chen
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University
| | - Gene H Brody
- Center for Family Research, Institute for Behavioral Research, University of Georgia
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11
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Thompson SF, Zalewski M, Kiff CJ, Lengua LJ. A state-trait model of cortisol in early childhood: Contextual and parental predictors of stable and time-varying effects. Horm Behav 2018; 98:198-209. [PMID: 29305885 PMCID: PMC5829009 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2017] [Revised: 12/06/2017] [Accepted: 12/23/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
This study examined state-trait models of diurnal cortisol (morning level and diurnal slope), and whether income, cumulative risk and parenting behaviors predicted variance in trait and state levels of cortisol. The sample of 306 mothers and their preschool children included 29% families at or near poverty, 27% families below the median income, and the remaining families at middle and upper income. Diurnal cortisol, income, cumulative risk, and parenting were measured at 4 time points, once every 9months, starting when children were 36-40months. State-trait models fit the data, suggesting significant state but not trait variance in cortisol. Low income and cumulative risk were related to trait levels of diurnal cortisol with little evidence of time-varying or state effects. Stable levels of parenting predicted trait levels of diurnal cortisol and time-varying levels of parenting predicted time-varying state levels of diurnal cortisol. Findings highlight the allostatic process of adaptation to risk as well as time-specific reactivity to variability in experience.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Cara J Kiff
- UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, United States
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12
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Segerstrom SC, Sephton SE, Westgate PM. Intraindividual variability in cortisol: Approaches, illustrations, and recommendations. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2017; 78:114-124. [PMID: 28192775 PMCID: PMC5362320 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.01.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2016] [Revised: 01/22/2017] [Accepted: 01/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Most of the variance in diurnal cortisol is attributable to intraindividual variability (IIV), defined as relatively short-term, reversible changes. Multiple methods for measuring IIV have been proposed, and some have already been applied to cortisol IIV. In the present review, measurement methods are described and applied to simulated cortisol data with known underlying differences in IIV and to real cortisol data from first-year law students. More slope variance and more residual or net variance were well captured by their individual standard deviations. Explorations of reliability suggested that 10 slopes and 50 residuals result in reliable and stable estimates of the individual standard deviations. A data-analytic plan for cortisol IIV is provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suzanne C. Segerstrom
- Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, 125 Kastle Hall, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, Phone 859-257-4549,
| | - Sandra E. Sephton
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, 317 Life Sciences Building, Louisville, KY 40292,
| | - Philip M. Westgate
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Kentucky, 111 Washington Avenue, Lexington, KY 40536,
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13
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Warm Parenting and Effortful Control in Toddlerhood: Independent and Interactive Predictors of School-Age Externalizing Behavior. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2017; 44:1083-96. [PMID: 26496906 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-015-0096-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Externalizing symptoms, such as aggression, impulsivity, and inattention, represent the most common forms of childhood maladjustment (Campbell et al. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 467-488, 2000). Several dimensions of parenting behavior, including overreactive and warm parenting, have been linked to children's conduct problems. However, the majority of these studies involve biologically-related family members, thereby limiting understanding of the role of genetic and/or environmental underpinnings of parenting on child psychopathology. This study extends previous research by exploring associations between overreactive and warm parenting during toddlerhood and school-age externalizing problems, as well as the potential moderating effects of child effortful control (EC) on such associations using a longitudinal adoption design. The sample consisted of 225 adoption-linked families (adoptive parents, adopted child [124 male and 101 female] and birth parent[s]), thereby allowing for a more precise estimate of environmental influences on the association between parenting and child externalizing problems. Adoptive mothers' warm parenting at 27 months predicted lower levels of child externalizing problems at ages 6 and 7. Child EC moderated this association in relation to teacher reports of school-age externalizing problems. Findings corroborate prior research with biological families that was not designed to unpack genetic and environmental influences on associations between parenting and child externalizing problems during childhood, highlighting the important role of parental warmth as an environmental influence.
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14
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Korpa T, Pervanidou P, Angeli E, Apostolakou F, Papanikolaou K, Papassotiriou I, Chrousos GP, Kolaitis G. Mothers' parenting stress is associated with salivary cortisol profiles in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Stress 2017; 20:149-158. [PMID: 28264636 DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2017.1303472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore the relation between mothers' parenting stress and the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA), as expressed by daily salivary cortisol concentrations, in their children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Seventy-five children aged 6-11 years diagnosed with ADHD predominant hyperactive-impulsive/combined (ADHD-HI/C, N = 49) and inattentive symptoms (ADHD-I, N = 26) and 45 healthy peers and their mothers participated in the study. Μothers completed measures assessing their children's ADHD status, perceived parenting stress (Parenting Stress Index - Short Form, PSI-SF), mothers' symptoms of psychopathology, social support and socioeconomic status. Children's salivary cortisol samples were collected at six different time points on a single day. Mothers of children with ADHD-HI/C reported higher levels of parenting stress than mothers of children with ADHD-I and controls. All PSI-SF subscales showed significant associations with children's cortisol awakening response (CAR) in both ADHD groups, with the exception of the parental distress subscale in the ADHD-I group. In both ADHD groups, the parent-child dysfunctional interaction subscale, the difficult child subscale and the PSI total score were significantly associated with children's CAR. An interrelation is revealed between mothers' high levels of parenting stress and HPAA functioning in children with ADHD. In this population, CAR has been identified as a sensitive peripheral measure of HPAA functioning in children. Lay summaryThis study showed that in families of children diagnosed with ADHD, there is a complex relation between the mothers' high levels of parenting stress and children's atypical hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terpsichori Korpa
- a Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , Athens University Medical School, "Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital: Thivon and Papadiamantopoulou , Athens , Greece
| | - Panagiota Pervanidou
- b Unit of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, First Department of Pediatrics , National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, "Aghia Sophia' Children's Hospital", Thivon and Papadiamantopoulou , Athens , Greece
| | - Eleni Angeli
- b Unit of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, First Department of Pediatrics , National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, "Aghia Sophia' Children's Hospital", Thivon and Papadiamantopoulou , Athens , Greece
| | - Filia Apostolakou
- c Department of Clinical Biochemistry , " Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital: Thivon and Papadiamantopoulou , Athens , Greece
| | - Katerina Papanikolaou
- a Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , Athens University Medical School, "Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital: Thivon and Papadiamantopoulou , Athens , Greece
| | - Ioannis Papassotiriou
- c Department of Clinical Biochemistry , " Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital: Thivon and Papadiamantopoulou , Athens , Greece
| | - George P Chrousos
- b Unit of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, First Department of Pediatrics , National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, "Aghia Sophia' Children's Hospital", Thivon and Papadiamantopoulou , Athens , Greece
| | - Gerasimos Kolaitis
- a Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , Athens University Medical School, "Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital: Thivon and Papadiamantopoulou , Athens , Greece
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15
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Marceau K, De Araujo-Greecher M, Miller ES, Massey SH, Mayes LC, Ganiban JM, Reiss D, Shaw DS, Leve LD, Neiderhiser JM. The Perinatal Risk Index: Early Risks Experienced by Domestic Adoptees in the United States. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0150486. [PMID: 27010541 PMCID: PMC4807102 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2015] [Accepted: 02/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
We aimed to assess comprehensively the prevalence of perinatal risks experienced by a potentially high-risk yet understudied population of children domestically adopted in the United States. Data are from participant report and medical records from mothers (n = 580) who completed a domestic adoption placement with nonrelatives at or near birth (Mean placement age = 7 days). We describe a comprehensive measure of perinatal risks, including divergences from previous assessment tools and the incorporation of multiple reporters, and report the prevalence of various types of perinatal risks. The prevalence of each specific risk factor was generally low, although several risks were more prevalent in this sample than estimates from nationally representative publicly available data. Nearly the entire sample (99%) experienced some type of risk exposure. Birth mothers who placed their children for adoption domestically in the US experience higher levels of perinatal risks than the national average, but not for all specific types of risk. Thus, the developmental trajectories of children adopted domestically may systematically differ from the general population to the extent that these specific perinatal risks impact development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristine Marceau
- Rhode Island Hospital/Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
- * E-mail: (KM); (JMN)
| | | | - Emily S. Miller
- Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Suena H. Massey
- Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Linda C. Mayes
- Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Jody M. Ganiban
- George Washington University, Washington, D.C., United States of America
| | - David Reiss
- Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Daniel S. Shaw
- University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Leslie D. Leve
- University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, United States of America
| | - Jenae M. Neiderhiser
- The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail: (KM); (JMN)
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16
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Inherited and environmental influences on a childhood co-occurring symptom phenotype: Evidence from an adoption study. Dev Psychopathol 2015; 28:111-25. [PMID: 25851306 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579415000322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Risk factors for the childhood development of co-occurring internalizing and externalizing symptoms are not well understood, despite a high prevalence and poor clinical outcomes associated with this co-occurring phenotype. We examined inherited and environmental risk factors for co-occurring symptoms in a sample of children adopted at birth and their birth mothers and adoptive mothers (N = 293). Inherited risk factors (i.e., birth mothers' processing speed and internalizing symptoms) and environmental risk factors (i.e., adoptive mothers' processing speed, internalizing symptoms, and uninvolved parenting) were examined as predictors for the development of internalizing-only, externalizing-only, or co-occurring symptoms using structural equation modeling. Results suggested a unique pattern of predictive factors for the co-occurring phenotype, with risk conferred by adoptive mothers' uninvolved parenting, birth mothers' slower processing speed, and the birth mothers' slower processing speed in tandem with adoptive mothers' higher internalizing symptoms. Additional analyses indicated that when co-occurring-symptom children were incorporated into internalizing and externalizing symptom groups, differential risk factors for externalizing and internalizing symptoms emerged. The findings suggest that spurious results may be found when children with co-occurring symptoms are not examined as a unique phenotypic group.
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17
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Babb JA, Deligiannidis KM, Murgatroyd CA, Nephew BC. Peripartum depression and anxiety as an integrative cross domain target for psychiatric preventative measures. Behav Brain Res 2015; 276:32-44. [PMID: 24709228 PMCID: PMC4185260 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.03.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2014] [Revised: 03/21/2014] [Accepted: 03/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Exposure to high levels of early life stress has been identified as a potent risk factor for neurodevelopmental delays in infants, behavioral problems and autism in children, but also for several psychiatric illnesses in adulthood, such as depression, anxiety, autism, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Despite having robust adverse effects on both mother and infant, the pathophysiology of peripartum depression and anxiety are poorly understood. The objective of this review is to highlight the advantages of using an integrated approach addressing several behavioral domains in both animal and clinical studies of peripartum depression and anxiety. It is postulated that a greater focus on integrated cross domain studies will lead to advances in treatments and preventative measures for several disorders associated with peripartum depression and anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica A Babb
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton, MA 01536, USA.
| | - Kristina M Deligiannidis
- Departments of Psychiatry and Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
| | | | - Benjamin C Nephew
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton, MA 01536, USA.
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18
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Segerstrom SC, Boggero IA, Smith GT, Sephton SE. Variability and reliability of diurnal cortisol in younger and older adults: implications for design decisions. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2014; 49:299-309. [PMID: 25137484 PMCID: PMC4165809 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.07.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2013] [Revised: 06/20/2014] [Accepted: 07/22/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The extant research is inconclusive regarding the best sampling methods to construct reliable measures of between-person differences in derived parameters of diurnal cortisol, and no study provides such recommendations for detecting within-person changes. These studies determined how many days of sampling are necessary to assess between-person differences and within-person changes over multiple occasions in diurnal mean, diurnal slope, and area under the curve (AUC). Generalizability and decision analyses were conducted on diurnal salivary cortisol data from two separate longitudinal studies, one with younger adults (N=124) and one with older adults (N=148). In both studies, results indicated that 3 days of data collection provided the minimal level of reliability in mean cortisol to detect between-person differences; 4-8 days were necessary to reliably assess AUC, and 10 days for cortisol slope. Similarly, in order to reliably characterize within-person changes across occasions, at least 3 days of data collection were needed for mean cortisol and AUC and 5-8 days for slope. Results also indicated that only two samples per day, taken morning and evening, could faithfully reproduce the diurnal slope calculated from 3 or 4 samples (r=.97-.99). Instead of having participants provide many samples per day over the course of a few days, we recommend collecting fewer samples per day over more days.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Sandra E. Sephton
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville
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19
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Marceau K, Laurent HK, Neiderhiser JM, Reiss D, Shaw DS, Natsuaki MN, Fisher PA, Leve LD. Combined Influences of Genes, Prenatal Environment, Cortisol, and Parenting on the Development of Children's Internalizing Versus Externalizing Problems. Behav Genet 2014; 45:268-82. [PMID: 25355319 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-014-9689-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2014] [Accepted: 10/14/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Research suggests that genetic, prenatal, endocrine, and parenting influences across development individually contribute to internalizing and externalizing problems in children. The present study tests the combined contributions of genetic risk for psychopathology, prenatal environments (maternal drug use and internalizing symptoms), child cortisol at age 4.5 years, and overreactive parenting influences across childhood on 6-year-old children's internalizing and externalizing problems. We used data from an adoption design that included 361 domestically adopted children and their biological and adopted parents prospectively followed from birth. Only parenting influences contributed (independently) to externalizing problems. However, genetic influences were indirectly associated with internalizing problems (through increased prenatal risk and subsequent morning cortisol), and parenting factors were both directly and indirectly associated with internalizing problems (through morning cortisol). Results suggest that prenatal maternal drug use/symptoms and children's morning cortisol levels are mechanisms of genetic and environmental influences on internalizing problems, but not externalizing problems, in childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristine Marceau
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, 121 S. Main St., Providence, RI, 02903, USA,
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20
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Yehuda R, Daskalakis NP, Lehrner A, Desarnaud F, Bader HN, Makotkine I, Flory JD, Bierer LM, Meaney MJ. Influences of maternal and paternal PTSD on epigenetic regulation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene in Holocaust survivor offspring. Am J Psychiatry 2014; 171:872-880. [PMID: 24832930 PMCID: PMC4127390 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2014.13121571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 252] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Differential effects of maternal and paternal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been observed in adult offspring of Holocaust survivors in both glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity and vulnerability to psychiatric disorder. The authors examined the relative influences of maternal and paternal PTSD on DNA methylation of the exon 1F promoter of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR-1F) gene (NR3C1) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and its relationship to glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity in Holocaust offspring. METHOD Adult offspring with at least one Holocaust survivor parent (N=80) and demographically similar participants without parental Holocaust exposure or parental PTSD (N=15) completed clinical interviews, self-report measures, and biological procedures. Blood samples were collected for analysis of GR-1F promoter methylation and of cortisol levels in response to low-dose dexamethasone, and two-way analysis of covariance was performed using maternal and paternal PTSD as main effects. Hierarchical clustering analysis was used to permit visualization of maternal compared with paternal PTSD effects on clinical variables and GR-1F promoter methylation. RESULTS A significant interaction demonstrated that in the absence of maternal PTSD, offspring with paternal PTSD showed higher GR-1F promoter methylation, whereas offspring with both maternal and paternal PTSD showed lower methylation. Lower GR-1F promoter methylation was significantly associated with greater postdexamethasone cortisol suppression. The clustering analysis revealed that maternal and paternal PTSD effects were differentially associated with clinical indicators and GR-1F promoter methylation. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study to demonstrate alterations of GR-1F promoter methylation in relation to parental PTSD and neuroendocrine outcomes. The moderation of paternal PTSD effects by maternal PTSD suggests different mechanisms for the intergenerational transmission of trauma-related vulnerabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Yehuda
- Departments of Psychiatry and 2Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
,Mental Health Care Center, PTSD Clinical Research Program and Laboratory of Clinical Neuroendocrinology/Neurochemistry, James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
,Fishberg Department of, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
,Correspondence to Dr. Yehuda, Traumatic Stress Studies Division, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 526 OOMH PTSD 116/A, 130 West Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, New York 10468, USA;
| | - Nikolaos P. Daskalakis
- Departments of Psychiatry and 2Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
,Fishberg Department of, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Amy Lehrner
- Departments of Psychiatry and 2Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
,Fishberg Department of, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Frank Desarnaud
- Departments of Psychiatry and 2Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
,Fishberg Department of, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Heather N. Bader
- Departments of Psychiatry and 2Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
,Fishberg Department of, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Iouri Makotkine
- Departments of Psychiatry and 2Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
,Fishberg Department of, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Janine D. Flory
- Departments of Psychiatry and 2Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
,Fishberg Department of, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Linda M. Bierer
- Departments of Psychiatry and 2Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
,Fishberg Department of, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michael J. Meaney
- Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
,Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Singapore
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21
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Lehrner A, Bierer LM, Passarelli V, Pratchett LC, Flory JD, Bader H, Harris IR, Bedi A, Daskalakis NP, Makotkine I, Yehuda R. Maternal PTSD associates with greater glucocorticoid sensitivity in offspring of Holocaust survivors. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2014; 40:213-20. [PMID: 24485493 PMCID: PMC3967845 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.11.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2013] [Revised: 11/21/2013] [Accepted: 11/21/2013] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Intergenerational effects of trauma have been observed clinically in a wide range of populations, and parental PTSD has been associated with an increased risk for psychopathology in offspring. In studies of Holocaust survivor offspring, parental PTSD, and particularly maternal PTSD, has been associated with increased risk for PTSD, low basal urinary cortisol excretion and enhanced cortisol suppression in response to dexamethasone. Such findings implicate maternally derived glucocorticoid programming in the intergenerational transmission of trauma-related consequences, potentially resulting from in utero influences or early life experiences. This study investigated the relative influence of Holocaust exposure and PTSD in mothers and fathers on glucocorticoid sensitivity in offspring. Eighty Holocaust offspring and 15 offspring of non-exposed Jewish parents completed evaluations and provided blood and urine samples. Glucocorticoid sensitivity was evaluated using the lysozyme suppression test (LST), an in vitro measure of glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity in a peripheral tissue, the dexamethasone suppression test (DST), and 24-h urinary cortisol excretion. Maternal PTSD was associated with greater glucocorticoid sensitivity in offspring across all three measures of glucocorticoid function. An interaction of maternal and paternal PTSD on the DST and 24-h urinary cortisol showed an effect of decreased glucocorticoid sensitivity in offspring with paternal, but not maternal, PTSD. Although indirect, these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that epigenetic programming may be involved in the intergenerational transmission of trauma-related effects on glucocorticoid regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Lehrner
- James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, NY, United States.
| | - Linda M. Bierer
- James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York,Traumatic Stress Studies Division, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
| | | | - Laura C. Pratchett
- James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York,Traumatic Stress Studies Division, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
| | - Janine D. Flory
- James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York,Traumatic Stress Studies Division, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
| | - Heather Bader
- James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York
| | - Iris R. Harris
- James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York
| | - Aarti Bedi
- James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York
| | - Nikolaos P. Daskalakis
- James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York,Traumatic Stress Studies Division, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
| | - Iouri Makotkine
- James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York,Traumatic Stress Studies Division, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
| | - Rachel Yehuda
- James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York,Traumatic Stress Studies Division, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
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