Examination of the role of obesity in the association between childhood trauma and inflammation during pregnancy.

Mitchell, Amanda M.; Porter, Kyle; Christian, Lisa M.

doi:10.1037/hea0000559

Cited by 27 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 78 publications

(120 reference statements)

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“…Consistent with the larger literature (Miller et al, 2017; Mitchell et al, 2018; Walsh et al, 2016), the current study provides further evidence that adversities experienced during childhood and adulthood are associated with elevated inflammatory markers during pregnancy. Specifically, bivariate correlations revealed that a history of childhood abuse was positively associated with both CRP and IL-6 in a sample of pregnant women, while current SES was negatively associated with both CRP and IL-6.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…These results also extend upon studies that have demonstrated a history of childhood abuse to be associated with elevated CRP in non-pregnant individuals after adjusting for SES (Baumeister et al, 2016; Coelho et al, 2014; Danese et al, 2007). Although empirical studies in pregnant women are limited, these data support prior research from our group linking childhood abuse history to elevated CRP, but not IL-6, after adjusting for current SES within a different and smaller cohort of 77 women (Mitchell et al, 2018). In contrast to previous research (Baumeister et al, 2016), the association between childhood abuse history and IL-6 was not replicated in our sample, further adding to mixed findings (for review see Coelho et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…These data in a sample of pregnant women replicate and extend the results of studies in non-pregnant samples that have shown early childhood adversity to affect CRP indirectly through BMI (Matthews et al, 2014; Raposa et al, 2014). Regarding data during pregnancy, a recent study demonstrated that pre-pregnancy BMI explained the relationship between childhood physical abuse and both CRP and IL-6 after adjusting for indicators of SES in a diverse sample of 77 pregnant women (Mitchell et al, 2018). Although the finding that prepregnancy BMI explained the relationship between childhood abuse history and IL-6 was not replicated, the finding that pre-pregnancy BMI explained the relationship between childhood abuse history and CRP was replicated in the current study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pathways linking childhood abuse history and current socioeconomic status to inflammation during pregnancy

Finy

Christian

2018

Brain, Behavior, and Immunity

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Women who have experienced significant adversities during childhood and adulthood are at risk for excessive inflammation during pregnancy, but the mechanisms are unclear. Using structural equation modeling, we examined pathways from childhood abuse history and current socioeconomic status (SES) to inflammatory markers through indicators of health risk, recent stressors, and psychological distress in 214 women assessed at mid-pregnancy (5-31 weeks gestation). Self-reported data on socioeconomic indicators, childhood trauma history, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), smoking, sleep quality, interpersonal conflict, recent life events, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms were collected, and serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin (IL)-6 were determined. In separate models, pre-pregnancy BMI, sleep quality, and interpersonal conflict statistically explained the relationship between adversity and inflammation. These three intermediate variables were then entered into a multiple mediation analysis to examine unique effects. Childhood abuse history and current SES both demonstrated significant indirect effects on CRP through pre-pregnancy BMI, and current SES showed a significant indirect effect on IL-6 through all intermediate variables. When examining each indirect pathway individually, pre-pregnancy BMI and interpersonal conflict emerged as parallel pathways by which low current SES leads to elevated IL-6; the indirect pathway through sleep quality was no longer significant. Pre-pregnancy BMI and interpersonal conflict are two independent mechanisms by which adversity is associated with increased inflammation during pregnancy. Women who have been exposed to significant adversity may be at particular risk for obesity, sleep disruption, and interpersonal conflict, with implications for immune dysregulation during pregnancy.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pathways linking childhood abuse history and current socioeconomic status to inflammation during pregnancy

Finy

Christian

2018

Brain, Behavior, and Immunity

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“…Most likely, pregnancy impacted cytokine response to stress; a similar study that utilized the TSST found that pregnant women had a dampened IL-6 response to the TSST compared with non-pregnant women (Christian et al, 2013). However, our result is similar to findings in which history of childhood abuse was not directly associated with baseline IL-6 during pregnancy, but mediated by another factor (in that case, BMI) (Mitchell et al, 2018). While not powered for a mediation analysis, exploratory analyses indicated that dietary intake of ω-3 PUFAs, particularly DHA, was associated with a dampened inflammatory response to acute stress among high ACE women.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Childhood adversity impact on gut microbiota and inflammatory response to stress during pregnancy

Hantsoo

Jašarević

Criniti

et al. 2019

Brain, Behavior, and Immunity

120

108

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Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as abuse or chronic stress, program an exaggerated adult inflammatory response to stress. Emerging rodent research suggests that the gut microbiome may be a key mediator in the association between early life stress and dysregulated glucocorticoid-immune response. However, ACE impact on inflammatory response to stress, or on the gut microbiome, have not been studied in human pregnancy, when inflammation increases risk of poor outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess the relationships among ACE, the gut microbiome, and cytokine response to stress in pregnant women. Methods: Physically and psychiatrically healthy adult pregnant women completed the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACE-Q) and gave a single stool sample between 20 and 26 weeks gestation. Stool DNA was isolated and 16S sequencing was performed. Three 24-hour food recalls were administered to assess dietary nutrient intake. A subset of women completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) at 22–34 weeks gestation; plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and cortisol were measured at four timepoints pre and post stressor, and area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. Results: Forty-eight women completed the ACE-Q and provided stool; 19 women completed the TSST. Women reporting 2 or more ACEs (high ACE) had greater differential abundance of gut Prevotella than low ACE participants (q=5.7×10^−13). Abundance of several gut taxa were significantly associated with cortisol, IL-6, TNF-α and CRP AUCs regardless of ACE status. IL-6 response to stress was buffered among high ACE women with high intake of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (p=0.03) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (p=0.05). Discussion: Our findings suggest that multiple childhood adversities are associated with changes in gut microbiota composition during pregnancy, and such changes may contribute to altered inflammatory and glucocorticoid response to stress. While preliminary, this is the first study to demonstrate an association between gut microbiota and acute glucocorticoid-immune response to stress in a clinical sample. Finally, exploratory analyses suggested that high ACE women with high dietary intake of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) had a dampened inflammatory response to acute stress, suggesting potentially protective effects of ω-3s in this high-risk population. Given the adverse effects of inflammation on pregnancy and the developing fetus, mechanisms by which childhood adversity influence the gut-brain axis and potential protective factors such as diet should be further explored.

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“…Obesity, conceptualized as a physiological stress, has been linked to considerable increases in circulatory inflammatory markers, particularly IL-6, throughout pregnancy and postpartum. Moreover, psychological stress and obesity may interact synergistically, resulting in more pronounced effects among women with both risk factors (Mitchell and Christian 2018). In addition, obesity has been observed to increase the risks of gestational hypertension and gestational diabetes via inflammatory pathways.…”

Section: Pregnancymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Everyday Stressors on the Immune System and Health

Seiler

Fagundes

Christian

2019

Stress Challenges and Immunity in Space

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Examination of the role of obesity in the association between childhood trauma and inflammation during pregnancy.

Cited by 27 publications

References 78 publications

Pathways linking childhood abuse history and current socioeconomic status to inflammation during pregnancy

Pathways linking childhood abuse history and current socioeconomic status to inflammation during pregnancy

Childhood adversity impact on gut microbiota and inflammatory response to stress during pregnancy

The Impact of Everyday Stressors on the Immune System and Health

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