Integrated and diurnal indices of maternal pregnancy cortisol in relation to sex‐specific parasympathetic responsivity to stress in infants

Abstract

Maternal hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal axis activity may prenatally program sex‐specific stress‐response pathways. We investigated associations between maternal cortisol during pregnancy and infant parasympathetic responsivity to stress among 204 mother–infant pairs. Cortisol indices included 3rd trimester hair cortisol, as well as diurnal slope and area under the curve, derived from saliva samples collected during pregnancy. Mother–infant dyads participated in the Repeated Still‐Face Paradigm (SFP‐R) at age 6 months. We calculated respiration‐adjusted respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSAc), an indicator of parasympathetic activation, from infant respiration and cardiac activity measured during the SFP‐R. We used multivariable linear mixed models to examine each cortisol index in relation to infant RSAc and investigated sex differences using cross‐product terms. Diurnal cortisol indices were not associated with RSAc. There was no association between hair cortisol and baseline RSAc. However, hair cortisol was associated with sex‐specific changes in RSAc over the SFP‐R such that, among girls, parasympathetic withdrawal was reduced with increasing prenatal exposure to cortisol. Consistently higher levels of prenatal cortisol exposure may lead to dampened parasympathetic responsivity to stress during infancy, particularly among girls. Maternal hair cortisol may be particularly valuable for studying the effects of prenatal cortisol exposure on infant autonomic reactivity.

Maternal prenatal cortisol and the interaction of income and pre‐pregnancy body mass index are independently associated with newborn cortisol

“…GWG was added as a covariate in each analysis as it has previously been associated with diurnal cortisol patterns in pregnancy in this cohort (Aubuchon‐Endsley et al., 2014). Based on extant literature, additional infant covariates were considered for current study analyses, including head circumference at birth (Ramsay & Lewis, 1995) and biological sex (Cowell et al., 2021; Kortesluoma et al., 2021). Sensitivity analyses were conducted to test if infant feeding during the NNNS exam (yes or no) impacted the results on infant cortisol and whether maternal wake time impacted the results of maternal CAR.…”

Ambient PM2.5 exposure and salivary cortisol output during pregnancy in a multi-ethnic urban sample

“…Study participants provided five passive drool saliva samples at the following defined time windows across three days within a 1-week period during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy (mean ± standard deviation: 33.0 ± 3.6 weeks, range: 27-39 weeks): (1) upon awakening, (2) 45 minutes (range: 30-90 minutes) after awakening and before the consumption of caffeine or food, (3) 4 hours (range: 4-6.5 hours) after awakening, (4) 10 hours (range: 7.5-11.5 hours) after awakening, and (5) before sleep (>11.5 hours after awakening) (Cowell et al 2021). Samples were collected at home and stored in the participant's personal refrigerator until collection by study staff.…”

“…To capture this rhythm, we calculated three features of the daily cortisol curve as previously described in detail (Cowell et al 2021). Briefly, we calculated cortisol awakening rise (CAR), which provides information on the immediate postawakening increase, as the difference in cortisol between the first and second time points.…”

Risk for internalizing symptom development in young children: Roles of child parasympathetic reactivity and maternal depression and anxiety exposure in early life

“…Second, a large literature has demonstrated that exposure to maternal psychological states (stress, depression, and anxiety) beginning in the prenatal period and throughout the first years of life has differential sex and/or gender effects on numerous child outcomes, including stress responsivity and mental health (Van den Bergh & Marcoen, 2004; Van den Bergh et al, 2008, 2020). Moreover, studies suggest that maternal psychological states may influence child PNS reactivity specifically in a sex‐dependent fashion, including in early life (Cowell et al, 2021; Foss et al, 2022; Tibu et al, 2014). Additionally, there is some evidence that maternal internalizing symptoms interact with child PNS functioning to predict sex‐specific trajectories of child internalizing symptoms in middle childhood (Wetter & El‐Sheikh, 2012).…”