Increased pituitary–adrenal activation and shortened gestation in a sample of depressed pregnant women: A pilot study

O’Keane, Veronica; Lightman, Stafford L.; Marsh, M.; Pawlby, Susan; Papadopoulos, Andrew; Taylor, Alyx; Moore, Richard G.; Patrick, Kirsten

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2010.10.004

Cited by 59 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…An inverted salivary diurnal biorhythm was already reported in a sample of depressed pregnant women [26]; however, this report failed to show any relationship between cortisol secretion derangement and length of gestation, most likely because the prominent and confounding interaction between depression and the HPA axis activity operates also during pregnancy [27]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Dysregulation of Diurnal Salivary Cortisol Production Is Associated with Spontaneous Preterm Delivery: A Pilot Study

Patacchioli

Perrone

Merlino

et al. 2013

Gynecol Obstet Invest

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Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the diurnal fluctuation of salivary cortisol and its overall diurnal secretion are associated with the length of gestation in patients who were admitted to the hospital with an assigned diagnosis of possible preterm labor (PL) at a gestational age of 28-33 weeks. Methods: In 22 patients, maternal saliva samples were collected for a cortisol assay 4 times per day (8 AM, 12 AM, 4 PM and 8 PM) on day 4 and day 6 after antenatal corticosteroid prophylaxis to prevent neonatal respiratory distress syndrome. Results: Eight patients who ultimately delivered before term (32.6 ± 1.7 gestation weeks) showed an inverted fluctuation of salivary cortisol on both days 4 and 6, morning cortisol levels being significantly lower than evening levels. In contrast, in 14 patients who delivered at term (39.5 ± 0.6 gestation weeks), the physiological diurnal fluctuation of salivary cortisol was maintained. In addition, a distinctive feature of women delivering before term was a significantly hampered salivary cortisol diurnal production measured on day 6. Conclusions: Corticoadrenal activity is dysregulated and anticipates very preterm delivery in women with an assigned diagnosis of possible PL.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Dysregulation of Diurnal Salivary Cortisol Production Is Associated with Spontaneous Preterm Delivery: A Pilot Study

Patacchioli

Perrone

Merlino

et al. 2013

Gynecol Obstet Invest

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“…Consistent with this, both the HPA axis and the inflammatory system are hyperactive during normal pregnancy. More importantly, there is also specific evidence that GR resistance is more marked in women who experience depressive symptoms or stress during pregnancy, as shown by both a further reduction of GR function [19] and an even higher activity of the HPA axis and the inflammatory system [20,21]. We propose that these biological changes affect both mothers' and children's behaviour.…”

Section: Clinical Relevance Of Antenatal Depressionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Depression during pregnancy: molecular regulations of mothers’ and children's behaviour

Pariante

2014

Biochemical Society Transactions

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Depression in pregnancy (also called 'antenatal depression') is being increasingly recognized as a clinically relevant condition that affects obstetric outcome, maternal behaviour and children's future mental health. The present review focuses on the molecular mechanisms operating in utero that underlie the potential effects of antenatal depression on mothers' and children's behaviour. In particular, I discuss evidence, coming largely from animal and cellular studies, that activation of the main hormonal stress-response system, the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis, in mothers who are depressed during pregnancy may affect maternal care as well as offspring's behaviour and future psychopathology. The evidence summarized in the present review supports the notion that preventing or treating depression in pregnancy will alleviate not only the suffering of mothers, but also the suffering of the next generation.

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“…1,4,34,48 However, it is important to note that investigations of maternal depression and cortisol in pregnancy have reported mixed results. 12,13,[49][50][51][52][53][54] Nonetheless, it has been suggested that biological markers of prenatal stress may be better indicators of offspring outcomes than selfreport measures. 34 Thus, we expected that maternal cortisol would significantly predict infant NR3C1 IF and BDNF IV methylation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal prenatal depressive symptoms predict infantNR3C11F andBDNFIV DNA methylation

et al. 2015

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Abbreviations: BDNF, gene encoding the brain-derived neurotrophic factor protein, BPA, bisphenol A, GR, glucocorticoid receptor, HPA, hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal, NR3C1, gene encoding the glucocorticoid receptor.Prenatal maternal psychological distress increases risk for adverse infant outcomes. However, the biological mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. Prenatal stress can impact fetal epigenetic regulation that could underlie changes in infant stress responses. It has been suggested that maternal glucocorticoids may mediate this epigenetic effect. We examined this hypothesis by determining the impact of maternal cortisol and depressive symptoms during pregnancy on infant NR3C1 and BDNF DNA methylation. Fifty-seven pregnant women were recruited during the second or third trimester. Participants self-reported depressive symptoms and salivary cortisol samples were collected diurnally and in response to a stressor. Buccal swabs for DNA extraction and DNA methylation analysis were collected from each infant at 2 months of age, and mothers were assessed for postnatal depressive symptoms. Prenatal depressive symptoms significantly predicted increased NR3C1 1F DNA methylation in male infants (b D 2.147, P D 0.044). Prenatal depressive symptoms also significantly predicted decreased BDNF IV DNA methylation in both male and female infants (b D ¡3.244, P D 0.013). No measure of maternal cortisol during pregnancy predicted infant NR3C1 1F or BDNF promoter IV DNA methylation. Our findings highlight the susceptibility of males to changes in NR3C1 DNA methylation and present novel evidence for altered BDNF IV DNA methylation in response to maternal depression during pregnancy. The lack of association between maternal cortisol and infant DNA methylation suggests that effects of maternal depression may not be mediated directly by glucocorticoids. Future studies should consider other potential mediating mechanisms in the link between maternal mood and infant outcomes.

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Increased pituitary–adrenal activation and shortened gestation in a sample of depressed pregnant women: A pilot study

Cited by 59 publications

References 28 publications

Dysregulation of Diurnal Salivary Cortisol Production Is Associated with Spontaneous Preterm Delivery: A Pilot Study

Dysregulation of Diurnal Salivary Cortisol Production Is Associated with Spontaneous Preterm Delivery: A Pilot Study

Depression during pregnancy: molecular regulations of mothers’ and children's behaviour

Maternal prenatal depressive symptoms predict infantNR3C11F andBDNFIV DNA methylation

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