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Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
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Maternal distress and child neuroendocrine and immune regulation

Jenna L Riis1, Douglas A Granger2, Cynthia S Minkovitz3

  • 1Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore 21205, MD, USA.

Social Science & Medicine (1982)
|January 26, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Maternal distress weakens the link between stress hormones and immune responses in children, particularly girls, potentially increasing inflammation risk. Early intervention for mothers is crucial for child health.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroendocrinology
  • Immunology
  • Developmental Psychology

Background:

  • Neuroendocrine-immune regulation is vital for health.
  • Early-life adversity can disrupt this network via stress response, increasing disease risk.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how maternal psychological well-being influences neuroendocrine-immune relationships in children.
  • To examine the moderating role of maternal distress on child cytokine and cortisol levels.

Main Methods:

  • Studied 125 mother-child pairs, measuring child saliva for cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α) and cortisol.
  • Assessed maternal psychological distress via depressive symptoms, anxiety, and parenting stress.
  • Utilized multilevel mixed models to analyze relationships.

Main Results:

  • Increased maternal distress weakened the inverse relationship between cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α) and cortisol in children.
  • These interactions were significant only in girls, not boys.
  • Boys showed consistent inverse cytokine-cortisol relations, regardless of maternal distress.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal distress alters children's neuroendocrine-immune responses, potentially reducing inflammation sensitivity to cortisol.
  • This desensitization may elevate the risk for inflammatory diseases in children.
  • Early detection and treatment of maternal distress are recommended to safeguard child health.
Abstract

Keywords:
Acute stressChildrenCytokinesMaternal mental healthSalivary cortisol

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