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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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Associations between Maternal and Offspring Hair Cortisol Concentrations and Child Behavioral Symptoms in

Anna Agapaki1, Fenia Papagianni1, Dimitra Metallinou2

  • 1Unit of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aghia Sophia Children's Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece.

Children (Basel, Switzerland)
|June 24, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Maternal perinatal mental disorders are linked to children's behavioral issues, potentially through the stress hormone cortisol. Mothers and children with perinatal mental disorders showed altered cortisol levels and increased behavioral problems.

Area of Science:

  • Psychiatry
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Endocrinology

Background:

  • Maternal perinatal mental disorders (PMD) are linked to adverse child developmental and behavioral outcomes.
  • The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and cortisol levels are implicated in mediating these effects.
  • Hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) offer a retrospective measure of chronic stress exposure.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between maternal and child hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) in mothers with and without perinatal mental disorders (PMD).
  • To examine the relationship between maternal/child HCC and child behavioral and emotional problems.

Main Methods:

  • Hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) were measured in mothers and their children (18-48 months).
  • Mothers were assessed for PMD using clinical interviews and questionnaires (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale).
  • Child behavior was evaluated using the Child Behavior Checklist.

Main Results:

  • Children of mothers with PMD exhibited increased attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms.
  • A positive association between maternal and child HCC was found in the total sample and the control group, but not in the PMD group.
  • In the PMD group, child HCC correlated with anxiety/depression symptoms, while both maternal and child HCC correlated with aggressive and oppositional/defiant behaviors.

Conclusions:

  • Chronic HPA axis dysregulation in mothers and children within PMD dyads may link maternal stress to child behavioral and emotional problems.
  • Altered maternal-child HPA axis activity is a potential mechanism underlying the intergenerational transmission of stress and behavioral issues.
  • Findings highlight the importance of addressing maternal mental health for child well-being and stress regulation.

Keywords:
developmental and behavioral problemshair cortisolmaternal stressperinatal mental disorders

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