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Maternal prenatal cortisol trajectories predict accelerated growth in infancy

Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook1, Elysia Poggi Davis2, Curt A Sandman3

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of California, 5200 Lake Rd, Merced, CA 95343, the United States of America.

Psychoneuroendocrinology
|November 13, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Maternal cortisol levels during pregnancy impact infant growth. Flat cortisol trajectories, high early on, are linked to faster infant weight gain and higher body mass index percentiles in the first six months.

Area of Science:

  • Reproductive biology
  • Developmental psychology
  • Endocrinology

Background:

  • Elevated maternal cortisol during pregnancy is associated with childhood obesity.
  • Previous studies measured maternal cortisol at a single time-point, limiting understanding of critical timing effects.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the longitudinal impact of maternal cortisol trajectories during pregnancy on infant growth.
  • To identify distinct patterns of maternal cortisol exposure throughout gestation.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal measurement of maternal plasma cortisol at four gestational time-points (15, 19, 25, 31 weeks).
  • Assessment of infant body mass index percentile (BMIP) at multiple time-points from birth to 24 months (n=189).
  • Application of general growth mixture modeling (GGMM) to identify cortisol trajectories and multilevel modeling to predict child growth.

Main Results:

  • Three maternal cortisol trajectories were identified: typical, steep, and flat.
  • Infants of mothers with flat cortisol trajectories (high early, plateauing) showed increased BMIP from birth to 6 months.
  • These infants had higher BMIPs at 3 and 6 months compared to those with typical or steep trajectories.

Conclusions:

  • The timing and trajectory of prenatal maternal cortisol exposure, not just the total amount, influence early infant growth.
  • Specific maternal cortisol patterns during gestation may contribute to early obesity risk.
  • Further research is needed to identify factors influencing maternal prenatal cortisol trajectories.

Keywords:
BMICortisolDevelopmental Origins of Health and DiseaseGlucocorticoidsPediatric ObesityPregnancy

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