Alterations of hair cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone in mother-infant-dyads with maternal childhood maltreatment

Abstract

BackgroundChild maltreatment (CM) has severe effects on psychological and physical health. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the major stress system of the body, is dysregulated after CM. The analysis of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in scalp hair presents a new and promising methodological approach to assess chronic HPA axis activity. This study investigated the effects of CM on HPA axis activity in the last trimester of pregnancy by measuring the two important signaling molecules, cortisol and DHEA in hair, shortly after parturition. In addition, we explored potential effects of maternal CM on her offspring’s endocrine milieu during pregnancy by measuring cortisol and DHEA in newborns’ hair.MethodsCM was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Cortisol and DHEA were measured in hair samples of 94 mothers and 30 newborns, collected within six days after delivery. Associations of maternal CM on her own and her newborn’s cortisol as well as DHEA concentrations in hair were analyzed with heteroscedastic regression models.ResultsHigher CM was associated with significantly higher DHEA levels, but not cortisol concentrations in maternal hair. Moreover, maternal CM was positively, but only as a non-significant trend, associated with higher DHEA levels in the newborns’ hair.ConclusionsResults suggest that the steroid milieu of the mother, at least on the level of DHEA, is altered after CM, possibly leading to non-genomic transgenerational effects on the developing fetus in utero. Indeed, we observed on an explorative level first hints that the endocrine milieu for the developing child might be altered in CM mothers. These results need extension and replication in future studies. The measurement of hair steroids in mothers and their newborns is promising, but more research is needed to better understand the effects of a maternal history of CM on the developing fetus.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1367-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Human Placenta Buffers the Fetus from Adverse Effects of Perceived Maternal Stress

“…In agreement with other studies that have recently reported levels of steroid hormones in pregnant women using similar mass spectrometry methodologies [ 48 ] or radio-immunoassays [ 23 , 49 ], concentrations of most hormones reported in this study are lower than previously reported methods that employ either direct or indirect immunoassays. Hair cortisol is often cited as a surrogate for predicting maternal stress levels or a marker of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis function in pregnant women [ 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]; however, hair cortisol levels reported in many of these studies were measured using salivary cortisol immunoassays. In our study, hair cortisol and cortisone levels were below the levels of detection; in fact, progesterone was the only steroid hormone that was above the limit of detection in hair samples.…”

Victims of War: Dehydroepiandrosterone Concentrations in Hair and Their Associations with Trauma Sequelae in Palestinian Adolescents Living in the West Bank

“…Some reports suggest that the earlier the traumatic stress takes place, the bigger the alterations [3], which, again, meshes well with the positive associations we found of cortisol and the cortisol/DHEA ratio with the timing of traumatic stress. A recent notable study tracks DHEA secretion following childhood adversity into the next generation, finding DHEA elevations in the hair samples of new mothers, as well as, on a more tentative level, in those of their newborn children [59], proving the substantial impact early life stress might have on DHEA secretion. However, other studies find no particular effects of adverse childhood events in juvenile and adult populations [28,33,34], highlighting the possible relevance of a plethora of further characteristics next to the timing of traumatic stress, such as type, duration and severity of the traumatic event, which urgently need assessment.…”

Perinatal determinants of neonatal hair glucocorticoid concentrations

“…In contrast, relatively little is known about the determinants of neonatal hair cortisol concentrations. Reports of whether neonatal hair cortisol reflects maternal cortisol in pregnancy are conflicting, with previous studies reporting either positive ( Hollanders et al, 2017 ) or no associations ( Hoffman et al, 2017b , Schury et al, 2017 ). Studies assessing determinants of neonatal hair cortisol in both humans and primate models have typically focused on maternal factors experienced throughout pregnancy, such as psychosocial stress ( Kapoor et al, 2016 , Romero-Gonzalez et al, 2018 , van der Voorn et al, 2018 ), and with the exception of one study ( Hollanders et al, 2017 ), have not reported associations between hair cortisol and exposures at the time of delivery.…”