Prenatal maternal Inflammation, childhood cognition and adolescent depressive symptoms
Madeline R Pike1, Emily Lipner1, Kathleen J O'Brien1
1Temple University, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, 1701 N 13th St, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.
Insights
Prenatal maternal inflammation may increase adolescent depression risk by impairing childhood cognitive performance. Lower cognitive scores in childhood, indicated by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), partially mediate this association, highlighting a potential pathway to depression.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Prenatal maternal inflammation is linked to increased depression risk in offspring.
- This inflammation may negatively impact offspring cognitive development, further elevating depression risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mediating role of childhood cognitive performance in the relationship between prenatal maternal inflammation and adolescent depressive symptoms.
Main Methods:
- Examined 696 mother-offspring dyads from the Child Health and Development Studies (CHDS) cohort.
- Assayed maternal serum inflammatory biomarkers (IL-6, IL-8, IL-1RA, sTNF-RII) from first and second trimesters.
- Assessed childhood cognitive performance (ages 9-11) using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) and adolescent depressive symptoms (ages 15-17) via self-report.
Main Results:
- Higher second-trimester IL-1RA was associated with lower childhood PPVT scores.
- Lower childhood PPVT scores significantly predicted higher adolescent depressive symptoms.
- A significant indirect effect of second-trimester IL-1RA on adolescent depressive symptoms was found, mediated by childhood PPVT scores.
Conclusions:
- Childhood cognitive performance, specifically receptive vocabulary, may act as a mediator linking prenatal maternal inflammation to adolescent depression.
- Lower cognitive performance in childhood represents a potential mechanism contributing to the increased risk of depression in adolescence following prenatal inflammation.
Background:
Accumulating evidence indicates that higher prenatal maternal inflammation is associated with increased depression risk in adolescent and adult-aged offspring. Prenatal maternal inflammation (PNMI) may increase the likelihood for offspring to have lower cognitive performance, which, in turn, may heighten risk for depression onset. Therefore, this study explored the potential mediating role of childhood cognitive performance in the relationship between PNMI and adolescent depressive symptoms in offspring.
Methods:
Participants included 696 mother-offspring dyads from the Child Health and Development Studies (CHDS) cohort. Biomarkers of maternal inflammation [interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) and soluble TNF receptor-II (sTNF-RII)] were assayed from first (T1) and second trimester (T2) sera. Childhood (ages 9-11) cognitive performance was assessed via standardized Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), a measure of receptive vocabulary correlated with general intelligence. Adolescent (ages 15-17) depressive symptoms were assessed via self-report.
Results:
There were no significant associations between T1 biomarkers and childhood PPVT or adolescent depressive symptoms. Higher T2 IL1-RA was directly associated with lower childhood PPVT (b = -0.21, SE = 0.08, t = -2.55, p = 0.01), but not with adolescent depressive symptoms. T2 IL-6 was not directly associated with childhood PPVT, but higher T2 IL-6 was directly associated at borderline significance with greater depressive symptoms in adolescence (b = 0.05, SE = 0.03, t = 1.96, p = 0.05). Lower childhood PPVT predicted significantly higher adolescent depressive symptoms (b = -0.07, SE = 0.02, t = -2.99, p < 0.01). There was a significant indirect effect of T2 IL-1RA on adolescent depressive symptoms via childhood PPVT (b = 0.03, 95 % CI = 0.002-0.03) indicating a partially mediated effect. No significant associations were found with T2 sTNF-RII nor IL-8.
Conclusions:
Lower childhood cognitive performance, such as that indicated by a lower PPVT score, represents a potential mechanism through which prenatal maternal inflammation contributes to adolescent depression risk in offspring.
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