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Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
06:39

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

Relationships between leptin, HCG, cortisol, and psychosocial stress and nausea and vomiting throughout pregnancy

Shih-Hsien Kuo1, Yi-Hsin Yang, Ruey-Hsia Wang

  • 1College of Medical and Health Science, Fooyin University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Biological Research for Nursing
|May 11, 2010
PubMed

The purposes of this prospective, longitudinal study were to examine the relationships between leptin, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), cortisol, and psychosocial stress and nausea and vomiting (NV) in women with mild-to-moderate NV throughout pregnancy. Participants comprised 91 pregnant women recruited from prenatal clinics in southern Taiwan. Data analysis using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that leptin, hCG, cortisol levels, and Index of Nausea, Vomiting, and Retching (INVR) scores, but not stress (measured with the Visual Analog Scale, VAS) scores, were significantly different among the three trimesters. The average INVR score and hCG level decreased from the first to third trimesters (p < .0001 for both). The average leptin and cortisol levels increased from the first to third trimesters (p = .001 and p < .0001, respectively). Analysis using mixed models indicated that the INVR scores decreased significantly in a progressive manner through the stages of pregnancy and were significantly lower in the second and third trimesters. Findings reveal that stress/VAS and hCG may both be significantly and independently associated with INVR scores. Future research should examine psychosocial reactions in addition to exploring other biochemical markers related to NV and stress.

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