Prenatal cortisol modifies the association between maternal trauma history and child cognitive development in a sex-specific manner in an urban pregnancy cohort.

Prenatal cortisol modifies the association between maternal trauma history and child cognitive development in a sex-specific manner in an urban pregnancy cohort. Stress. 2019 Feb 15;:1-8 Authors: Campbell RK, Devick KL, Coull BA, Cowell W, Askowitz T, Goldson B, Wright RO, Wright RJ Abstract Women's experience of trauma may cause lifelong alterations in physiological stress regulation, which can be transmitted to offspring in utero. We investigated, in a prospective pregnancy cohort, associations among maternal lifetime interpersonal trauma (IPT) history, prenatal cortisol dysregulation, and children's memory domains. Sex-specific effects were also explored. Pregnant women were enrolled from Brigham & Women's Hospital and affiliated clinics near Boston, MA, in 2002-2007. IPT was assessed with the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale, short form. Salivary cortisol was measured at five time points on each of three days in one week at 29.0 ± 5.1 weeks gestation, and morning rise and diurnal slope were calculated. The Wide Range Assessment of Memory & Learning, 2nd Edition was administered at 6.5 ± 1.0 years and scores were generated for general memory and three sub-domains: verbal, visual, and attention/concentration. In total, 258 maternal-child dyads provided memory and IPT and/or cortisol data. IPT was positively associated with verbal memory in boys (β ± SE: 4.6 ± 2.6) and inversely associated with visual ...
Source: Stress - Category: Research Tags: Stress Source Type: research