Stress reactivity in preschool-aged children: Evaluation of a social stress paradigm and investigation of the impact of prenatal maternal stress

The study was designed to investigate the impact of disaster-related prenatal maternal stress on neonates’ reactivity to the routinely administered, painful, newborn screen procedure (heelstick or heel prick). We hypothesized that pregnancy exposure to a flood stressor would affect fetal developmental pathways and subsequently neonatal responses to other stressful events, including the newborn screen. The pregnant women we recruited were affected by sudden onset floods in Queensland, Australia in 2011. Using methods similar to those described in the literature, we collected neonatal saliva immediately prior to the newborn screen and +20 and +40 min afterwards. Saliva sampling was halted after failed saliva collection attempts by trained research staff on 17 newborns. This article discusses reasons for our failure, including the influence of bioethical concerns and the requirement that research activities are compliant with hospital policies as well as the necessity of publishing studies that fail to replicate prior research.

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Childhood body mass index at 5.5 years mediates the effect of prenatal maternal stress on daughters’ age at menarche: Project Ice Storm

Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease ◽

10.1017/s2040174416000726 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 168-177 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

A. Duchesne ◽

A. Liu ◽

S. L. Jones ◽

D. P. Laplante ◽

S. King

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Body Mass ◽

Maternal Stress ◽

Pubertal Timing ◽

Self Report ◽

Age At Menarche ◽

Ice Storm ◽

Prenatal Maternal Stress ◽

Prospective Longitudinal ◽

The Impact

Early pubertal timing is known to put women at greater risk for adverse physiological and psychological health outcomes. Of the factors that influence girls’ pubertal timing, stress experienced during childhood has been found to advance age at menarche (AAM). However, it is not known if stress experienced by mothers during or in the months before conception can be similarly associated with earlier pubertal timing. Prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) is associated with metabolic changes, such as increased childhood adiposity and risk of obesity, that have been associated with earlier menarchal age. Using a prospective longitudinal design, the present study tested whether PNMS induced by a natural disaster is either directly associated with earlier AAM, or whether there is an indirect association mediated through increased girls’ body mass index (BMI) during childhood. A total of 31 girls, whose mothers were exposed to the Quebec’s January 1998 ice storm during pregnancy were followed from 6 months to 5 1/2 to 5.5 years of age. Mother’s stress was measured within 6 months of the storm. BMI was measured at 5.5 years, and AAM was assessed through teen’s self-report at 13.5 and 15.5 years of age. Results revealed that greater BMI at 5.5 years mediated the effect of PNMS on decreasing AAM [B=−0.059, 95% confidence intervals (−0.18, −0.0035)]. The present study is the first to demonstrate that maternal experience of stressful conditions during pregnancy reduces AAM in the offspring through its effects on childhood BMI. Future research should consider the impact of AAM on other measures of reproductive ability.

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FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study: Effects of prenatal maternal stress and neonatal intensive care on stress reactivity of the 10-week-old infants

Psychoneuroendocrinology ◽

10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.07.312 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 83 ◽

pp. 28

Author(s):

Susanna Kortesluoma ◽

Kalle Korhonen ◽

Laura Korhonen ◽

Linnea Karlsson ◽

Hasse Karlsson

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Intensive Care ◽

Birth Cohort ◽

Neonatal Intensive Care ◽

Stress Reactivity ◽

Maternal Stress ◽

Birth Cohort Study ◽

Prenatal Maternal Stress

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Prenatal maternal stress and risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in the offspring: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

HRB Open Research ◽

10.12688/hrbopenres.12827.1 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 15

Author(s):

Nicla Manzari ◽

Karen Matvienko-Sikar ◽

Franco Baldoni ◽

Gerard W. O'Keeffe ◽

Ali S. Khashan

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Maternal Stress ◽

Data Extraction ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Prenatal Maternal Stress ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Meta Analyses ◽

The Impact

Background: Prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) is defined as the experience of significant levels of prenatal stress, depression or anxiety during pregnancy. PNMS has been associated with increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in exposed offspring. However, these findings are inconsistent and other studies found no association, meaning a clear consensus on the impact of PNMS on ASD and ADHD risk is required. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to summarize and critically review the existing literature on the effects of PNMS on ASD and ADHD risk. Methods: Electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus and EMBASE) will be searched for articles following a detailed search strategy. We will include cohort, case-control and cross-sectional studies that assessed maternal exposure to psychological and/or environmental stress and had ASD or ADHD as an outcome. Two reviewers will independently screen the titles, abstracts and full articles to identify eligible studies. We will use a standardised data extraction form for extracting data and a bias classification tool for assessing study quality. This systematic review will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The generic inverse variance method will be used if possible to perform meta-analyses. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval is not required for this study because it will not involve the conduct or inclusion of any experimental or personal data that would require informed consent. The systematic review will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42018084222.

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Prenatal maternal stress and risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in the offspring: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

HRB Open Research ◽

10.12688/hrbopenres.12827.2 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 15 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nicla Manzari ◽

Karen Matvienko-Sikar ◽

Franco Baldoni ◽

Gerard W. O'Keeffe ◽

Ali S. Khashan

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Maternal Stress ◽

Data Extraction ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Prenatal Maternal Stress ◽

Case Control Studies ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Meta Analyses ◽

The Impact

Background: Prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) is defined as the experience of significant levels of prenatal stress, depression or anxiety during pregnancy. PNMS has been associated with increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in exposed offspring. However, these findings are inconsistent and other studies found no association, meaning a clear consensus on the impact of PNMS on ASD and ADHD risk is required. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to summarize and critically review the existing literature on the effects of PNMS on ASD and ADHD risk. Methods: Electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus and EMBASE) will be searched for articles following a detailed search strategy. We will include cohort and case-control studies that assessed maternal exposure to psychological and/or environmental stress and had ASD or ADHD as an outcome. Two reviewers will independently screen the titles, abstracts and full articles to identify eligible studies. We will use a standardised data extraction form for extracting data and a bias classification tool for assessing study quality. This systematic review will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The generic inverse variance method will be used if possible to perform meta-analyses. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval is not required for this study because it will not involve the conduct or inclusion of any experimental or personal data that would require informed consent. The systematic review will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42018084222.

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DNA methylation mediates the impact of exposure to prenatal maternal stress on BMI and central adiposity in children at age 13½ years: Project Ice Storm

Epigenetics ◽

10.1080/15592294.2015.1063771 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 749-761 ◽

Cited By ~ 55

Author(s):

Lei Cao-Lei ◽

Kelsey N Dancause ◽

Guillaume Elgbeili ◽

Renaud Massart ◽

Moshe Szyf ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dna Methylation ◽

Maternal Stress ◽

Ice Storm ◽

Central Adiposity ◽

Prenatal Maternal Stress ◽

The Impact

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The impact of prenatal maternal stress due to potentially traumatic events on child temperament: A systematic review

Developmental Psychobiology ◽

10.1002/dev.22195 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 63 (7) ◽

Author(s):

Nayra C. Rodríguez‐Soto ◽

Carmen J. Buxó ◽

Evangelia Morou‐Bermudez ◽

Koraly Pérez‐Edgar ◽

Idanara T. Ocasio‐Quiñones ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Maternal Stress ◽

Traumatic Events ◽

Child Temperament ◽

Prenatal Maternal Stress ◽

Potentially Traumatic Events ◽

The Impact

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The impact of pre-natal stress on offspring development in pigs

The Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.1017/s0021859614001361 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 153 (5) ◽

pp. 907-919 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

W. OTTEN ◽

E. KANITZ ◽

M. TUCHSCHERER

Keyword(s):

Immune Function ◽

Social Stress ◽

Management Practices ◽

Maternal Stress ◽

Experimental Models ◽

Farm Animals ◽

Maternal Behaviour ◽

Phenotypic Traits ◽

Ethical Implications ◽

The Impact

SUMMARYIn farm animals, restricted housing conditions or inadequate management practices during gestation may be potential stressors for the mother, with possible consequences on the growth, vitality, health and welfare of the dam and its offspring, and thus can have economic as well as ethical implications. The current review summarizes data from studies in pigs on the impact of maternal stress during gestation on the litter characteristics and phenotypic traits of offspring. The outcomes from the different experimental models using either maternal stress paradigms or artificially increased maternal cortisol are presented, and possible reasons for the consistent or divergent results are discussed. Maternal stress models are of particular importance, because social stress, restraint, rough handling and heat or cold stress are of practical relevance during housing of pregnant sows, whereas in other models the specific role of maternal cortisol as a mediator for pre-natal stress is studied. The data reveal that pre-natal stress in pigs can impair growth and modify the immune function, stress reactivity and behaviour of offspring. There is evidence that the materno-foetal cortisol regulation is a major determinant of the alterations in offspring. Neuroendocrine and behavioural data in the offspring indicate that pre-natally stressed pigs can express a modified phenotype characterized by increased reactivity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, altered emotionality, more fearfulness in a novel environment and disturbed social and maternal behaviour. Further research is needed and should focus on the long-term consequences on immune function, reproductive traits and maternal behaviour in female offspring used as breeding animals.

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