Characterizing prenatal maternal distress with unique prenatal cortisol trajectories

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Developmental Psychology
• Maternal-Fetal Medicine

Background:

• Glucocorticoids are hypothesized to mediate the effects of maternal adversity on prenatal development.
• Empirical evidence linking prenatal cortisol to maternal distress is limited despite its known association with developmental outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between maternal prenatal psychological distress and gestational cortisol profiles.
• To apply a novel general growth mixture modeling (GGMM) approach to analyze these relationships.

Main Methods:

• Collected plasma samples for cortisol analysis from 250 pregnant women.
• Administered questionnaires measuring pregnancy anxiety, perceived stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms.
• Utilized GGMM to identify distinct prenatal cortisol trajectory groups.

Main Results:

• Identified three cortisol trajectory groups: typical (steady increase), steep (accelerated increase), and flat (higher early, plateaued mid-gestation).
• Women with higher distress scores showed flatter cortisol trajectories, associated with less optimal developmental outcomes.
• The 'flat' trajectory group had higher early-pregnancy cortisol and lower late-pregnancy levels.

Conclusions:

• Maternal psychological distress during pregnancy is associated with unique prenatal cortisol profiles.
• Further research is needed to evaluate this biological pathway linking maternal distress to fetal programming.
• Findings support the role of cortisol in mediating the impact of maternal psychological distress on prenatal development.