Sex-specific associations between prenatal negative life events and birth outcomes

Rosa, Maria José; Nentin, Farida; Enlow, Michelle Bosquet; Hacker, Michele R.; Pollas, Nastasia; Coull, Brent A.; Wright, Rosalind J.

doi:10.1080/10253890.2019.1608944

Cited by 31 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…What does seem clearand this has been shown in a number of studiesis that fetuses are vulnerable and that stress plays a role. For example, it has been shown that Y fetuses mature more slowly than X fetuses 44 ; they tend to present pregnancy complications and preterm birth 17,[45][46][47] ; and at birth, they are more likely to have shorter telomeres 48,49 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hair cortisol levels in pregnancy as a possible determinant of fetal sex: a longitudinal study

Romero-González

Puertas-Gonzalez

González-Pérez

et al. 2021

J Dev Orig Health Dis

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Stress during pregnancy has been widely studied and associated to different variables, usually with negative results for the health of the mother and the newborn, such as having a higher risk of suffering postpartum depression, premature birth, obstetrics complications or low birthweight, among others. However, there are not many lines of research that study the role that the sex of the baby plays on this specific stress and vice versa. Thus, the main objective was to analyse the relationship between the sex of the offspring and the stress of the mothers in the first trimester of pregnancy. In order to achieve this, 108 women had their biological stress measured (trough hair cortisol levels) and psychological stress evaluated (the Prenatal Distress Questionnaire (PSS), the Perceived Stress Scale (PDQ) and the Stress Vulnerability Inventory (IVE)). The results revealed significant differences in maternal hair cortisol levels in the first trimester based on the sex of the baby they had given birth to (t = −2.04; P < 0.05): the concentration of the hormone was higher if the baby was a girl (164.36:54.45-284.87 pg/mg) than if it was a boy (101.13:37.95-193.56 pg/mg). These findings show that the sex of the future baby could be conditioned, among many other variables, by the mother´s stress levels during conception and first weeks of pregnancy. Further research is needed in this area to support our findings.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hair cortisol levels in pregnancy as a possible determinant of fetal sex: a longitudinal study

Romero-González

Puertas-Gonzalez

González-Pérez

et al. 2021

J Dev Orig Health Dis

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“…Greater fetal exposure to cortisol is understood influence a wide variety of biological and health phenotypes across the lifecourse. These include birth outcomes such as restricted fetal growth rates, shorten gestations, and reduce birth size (Kim et al 2020a; Rosa et al 2019; Ryu 2019). Greater intrauterine cortisol exposure may also durably alter the development and sensitivity of the fetal stress physiology (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological Legacies of Intergenerational Trauma under South African Apartheid: Prenatal Stress Predicts Increased Psychiatric Morbidity during Late Adolescence and Early Adulthood in Soweto, South Africa

Kim

Said‐Mohamed

Norris

et al. 2021

Preprint

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BackgroundSouth Africa’s rates of psychiatric morbidity are among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa and are foregrounded by the country’s long history of political violence during apartheid. Recent evidence suggests that maternal trauma during gestation may intergenerationally impact the developing fetus and elevate the future child’s risk for psychiatric disease. We aim to evaluate the intergenerational effects of prenatal stress experienced during apartheid on late adolescent psychiatric morbidity and also assess the potential ameliorative effects of prenatal social support.MethodParticipants (n = 1051) come from Birth-to-Twenty, a longitudinal birth cohort study in Soweto-Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest peri-urban township which was the epicenter of violent repression and resistance during the final years of the apartheid regime. Pregnant women were prospectively enrolled in 1990 and completed questionnaires assessing social experiences, and their children’s psychiatric morbidity were assessed at age 17-18.ResultsFull data were available from 304 mother-child pairs in 2007-8. Pregnant women who experienced worse traumatic stress in 1990 had children who exhibited greater psychiatric morbidity during late adolescence. This relationship was only significant, however, among children born to younger mothers and adolescents who experienced greater concurrent stress. Social support did not buffer the long-term impacts of prenatal stress on future psychiatric morbidity.ConclusionGreater prenatal stress predicted adverse psychiatric outcomes among children born to younger mothers and adolescents who experienced greater concurrent stress. Our findings suggest that prenatal stress may affect adolescent mental health, have stress-sensitizing effects, and represent possible intergenerational effects of trauma experienced under apartheid in this sample.

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“…Although there are exceptions in which PNMS has been linked to increased risk of SSD in females, in those studies, there was greater mortality of male offspring, complicating findings and corroborating the aforementioned hypotheses [121]. There is also evidence of sex-specific risk for particular birth outcomes (i.e., shortened gestational age, preterm birth) that threaten morbidity and mortality of the fetus following PNMS that may also, in turn, increase risk for SSD [122,123].…”

Section: Fetal Sex As a Potential Moderatormentioning

confidence: 90%

Prenatal Maternal Stress and the Cascade of Risk to Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders in Offspring

Lipner

Murphy

Ellman

2019

Curr Psychiatry Rep

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Purpose of Review-Disruptions in fetal development (via genetic and environmental pathways) have been consistently associated with risk for schizophrenia in a variety of studies. Although multiple obstetric complications (OCs) have been linked to schizophrenia, this review will discuss emerging evidence supporting the role of prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) in the etiology of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). In addition, findings linking PNMS to intermediate phenotypes of the disorder, such as OCs and premorbid cognitive, behavioral, and motor deficits, will be reviewed. Maternal immune and endocrine dysregulation will also be explored as potential mechanisms by which PNMS confers risk for SSD. Recent Findings-PNMS has been linked to offspring SSD; however, findings are mixed due to inconsistent and retrospective assessments of PNMS and lack of specificity about SSD outcomes. PNMS is also associated with various intermediate phenotypes of SSD (e.g., prenatal infection/ inflammation, decreased fetal growth, hypoxia-related OCs). Recent studies continue to elucidate the impact of PNMS while considering the moderating roles of fetal sex and stress timing, but it is still unclear which aspects of PNMS (e.g., type, timing) confer risk for SSD specifically. Summary-PNMS increases risk for SSD, but only in a small portion of fetuses exposed to PNMS. Fetal sex, genetics, and other environmental factors, as well as additional pre-and postnatal insults, likely contribute to the PNMS-SSD association. Longitudinal birth cohort studies are needed to prospectively illuminate the mechanisms that account for the variability in outcomes following PNMS.

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Sex-specific associations between prenatal negative life events and birth outcomes

Cited by 31 publications

References 56 publications

Hair cortisol levels in pregnancy as a possible determinant of fetal sex: a longitudinal study

Hair cortisol levels in pregnancy as a possible determinant of fetal sex: a longitudinal study

Psychological Legacies of Intergenerational Trauma under South African Apartheid: Prenatal Stress Predicts Increased Psychiatric Morbidity during Late Adolescence and Early Adulthood in Soweto, South Africa

Prenatal Maternal Stress and the Cascade of Risk to Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders in Offspring

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