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Updated: Aug 9, 2026
Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
Published on: June 13, 2021
Psychiatric morbidity is related to a chain of prenatal and perinatal adversities
L Batstra1, J Neeleman, C Elsinga
1Accare University Centre Child Psychiatry, Hanzeplein 1, PO Box 660, 9700 AR Groningen, The Netherlands. l.batstra@accare.nl
Insights
Psychiatric multimorbidity in young adults is linked to a chain of prenatal and perinatal adversities, not isolated early risk factors. Prevention should consider the entire pre- and perinatal context for better mental health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Perinatal mental health research
- Developmental psychology
- Psychiatric epidemiology
Background:
- Traditional research often links specific obstetric complications to specific mental health disorders.
- Obstetric complications and psychiatric issues rarely occur in isolation.
- This study investigates a broader spectrum of early risk factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine prenatal and perinatal risk factors for psychiatric multimorbidity in early adulthood.
- To differentiate risk factors for single (monomorbidity) versus multiple (multimorbidity) psychiatric disorders.
- To inform targeted prevention and intervention strategies.
Main Methods:
- A prospective birth cohort of 285 young adults was assessed.
- Standardized psychiatric interviews determined monomorbidity and multimorbidity of six psychiatric disorders.
- Logistic regression analyses explored associations between early risk factors and psychiatric outcomes.
Main Results:
- Monomorbidity was associated with isolated early risk factors (e.g., low birth weight) and accumulated adverse events.
- Psychiatric multimorbidity was exclusively linked to a sequence of pre- and perinatal adversities.
- A chain of adversities emerged as a key predictor for multiple psychiatric disorders.
Conclusions:
- Prevention efforts should address the cumulative impact of pre- and perinatal factors.
- Focusing solely on isolated risk factors may be insufficient for preventing psychiatric multimorbidity.
- A holistic view of the prenatal and perinatal environment is crucial for mental health research and practice.
Background:
Most studies on the effects of early risk factors on future mental health focus on specific obstetric complications as risk factors for specific disorders. However, obstetric complications rarely occur in isolation, and the same holds for psychiatric problems.
Aims:
To study prenatal and perinatal risk factors for psychiatric multimorbidity in early adulthood and to determine whether these differ from risk factors for monomorbidity.
Study Design:
Monomorbidity and multimorbidity of six types of psychiatric disorders were determined by a standardised psychiatric interview. Using univariate and multivariate logistic and ordinal logistic regression, associations of mono- and multimorbidity with prospectively collected early risk factors were examined.
Subjects:
Two hundred and eighty-five young adults selected from a prospective birth cohort on the basis of their Obstetric Optimality Scores.
Outcome Measures:
Six types of psychiatric disorder and their co-occurrence.
Results:
Monomorbidity was related to isolated early risk factors such as low birth weight or a low Apgar score, and to an accumulation of unfavourable pre- and perinatal events. Multimorbidity on the other hand, was only related to a chain of pre- and perinatal adversities.
Conclusion:
Research and prevention strategies should not focus solely on isolated early risk factors, but also on the entire pre- and perinatal situation.
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