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Published on: December 21, 2021
Maternal prenatal depression predicts infant negative affect via maternal inflammatory cytokine levels
Hanna C Gustafsson1, Elinor L Sullivan2, Elizabeth K Nousen1
1Oregon Health and Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR, USA.
Insights
Maternal prenatal depression impacts infant negative affect through inflammation. Maternal depressive symptoms increase pro-inflammatory cytokines, which in turn affect infant mood and temperament.
Area of Science:
- Perinatal mental health
- Developmental psychology
- Psychoneuroimmunology
Background:
- Maternal prenatal depression is linked to offspring emotional and behavioral issues.
- Infant negative affect is a predictor of later psychopathology.
- The biological mechanisms linking maternal depression to infant outcomes are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To prospectively examine if maternal inflammatory cytokines mediate the association between maternal depressive symptoms and infant negative affect.
- To investigate the role of inflammation in the transmission of maternal mood effects to offspring.
- To identify potential biological pathways for early intervention in infant mood regulation.
Main Methods:
- A pilot study followed 68 women from the second trimester of pregnancy to six months postpartum.
- Maternal depressive symptoms and affect were assessed.
- Maternal plasma concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1) were measured in the third trimester.
- Maternal report of infant negative affect was collected.
Main Results:
- Maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy were associated with elevated maternal pro-inflammatory cytokines in the third trimester.
- Maternal inflammation mediated the relationship between maternal depressive symptoms and infant negative affect.
- This mediation effect was observed even after controlling for maternal affect during the postpartum period.
Conclusions:
- This is the first human study to demonstrate that maternal inflammatory cytokines mediate the link between prenatal depression and infant negative affect.
- It provides evidence for a biological mechanism (inflammation) through which maternal depressive symptoms influence infant temperament.
- Findings highlight the importance of addressing maternal mental health during pregnancy for infant well-being.
Abstract:
Maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy are associated with risk for offspring emotional and behavioral problems, but the mechanisms by which this association occurs are not known. Infant elevated negative affect (increased crying, irritability, fearfulness, etc.) is a key risk factor for future psychopathology, so understanding its determinants has prevention and early intervention potential. An understudied yet promising hypothesis is that maternal mood affects infant mood via maternal prenatal inflammatory mechanisms, but this has not been prospectively examined in humans. Using data from a pilot study of women followed from the second trimester of pregnancy through six months postpartum (N = 68) our goal was to initiate a prospective study as to whether maternal inflammatory cytokines mediate the association between maternal depressive symptoms and infant offspring negative affect. The study sample was designed to examine a broad range of likely self-regulation and mood-regulation problems in offspring; to that end we over-selected women with a family history or their own history of elevated symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Results supported the hypothesis: maternal pro-inflammatory cytokines during the third trimester (indexed using a latent variable that included plasma interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 concentrations as indicators) mediated the effect, such that higher maternal depressive symptoms were associated with higher maternal inflammation, and this mediated the effect on maternal report of infant negative affect (controlling for maternal affect during the infant period). This is the first human study to demonstrate that maternal inflammatory cytokines mediate the association between prenatal depression and infant outcomes, and the first to demonstrate a biological mechanism through which depressive symptoms impact infant temperament.
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