Biological embedding of maternal postpartum depressive symptoms: The potential role of cortisol and telomere length.

Although maternal postpartum depressive symptoms (PDS) are associated with child behavior problems, the underlying biological mechanisms are poorly understood. Thus, the current study focused on 193 healthy mother-child dyads and investigated child cortisol and telomere length as potential mediating factors. At 3 and 6 months postpartum, mothers reported on PDS. At age 6, children provided saliva and buccal swab samples. At age 10, mothers and children reported on child behavior problems. Structural equation modelling revealed (a) no association between PDS and child behavior problems and thus no possibility of mediation, but that (b) lower cortisol forecast more child-reported internalizing problems, and (c) shorter telomere length predicted more child-reported internalizing and externalizing problems. These findings raise mediational questions about the determinants of these biomarkers

Testing three hypotheses about effects of sensitive-insensitive parenting on telomeres.

Telomeres are the protective DNA-protein sequences appearing at the ends of chromosomes; they shorten with each cell division and are considered a biomarker of aging. Shorter telomere length and greater erosion have been associated with compromised physical and mental health and are hypothesized to be affected by early life stress. In the latter case, most work has relied on retrospective measures of early life stressors. The Dutch research (n = 193) presented herein tested 3 hypotheses prospectively regarding effects of sensitive-insensitive parenting during the first 2.5 years on telomere length at age 6, when first measured, and change over the following 4 years. It was predicted that (1) less sensitive parenting would predict shorter telomeres and greater erosion and that such effects would be most pronounced in children (2) exposed to prenatal stress and/or (3) who were highly negatively emotional as infants. Results revealed, only, that prenatal stress amplified parenting effects on telomere change-in a differential-susceptibility-related manner: Prenatally stressed children displayed more erosion when they experienced insensitive parenting and less erosion when they experienced sensitive parenting. Mechanisms that might initiate greater postnatal plasticity as a result of prenatal stress are highlighted and future work outlined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

A History of Aboriginal Sydney…digitally delivering the past to the present

For more than two centuries, the history of the Indigenous people of the Sydney region has remained locked away in archives, held within families, or obliterated by the dominant culture. Now, with community approval and co-operation, our project, A history of Aboriginal Sydney, is beginning to use digital tools to restore Sydney's Aboriginal history in forms which can be appreciated and shared by the families themselves, by high school students and by everyone who values the history and culture of Australia's first peoples. Our project is based on the developing knowledge management platform, which integrates historical records, methods and tools of e-scholarship, and solutions for delivering research data for different uses. The project team employs methods such as marking of topic threads, and linking data with interactive timelines and digital maps to enable online learning and information discovery on the website . The project itself is based in the Department of History, University of Sydney and is funded by an Australia Research Council, Australian Professorial Fellowship and Discovery Grant. The research data are archived in ATSIDA (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Data Archive), which provides long-term preservation and manages appropriate access to the data.ARC, ATSID

Does entry to center-based childcare affect gut microbial colonization in young infants?

Entry to center-based childcare (CC) at three months of life can be an important challenge for infants as it includes major stressors such as long maternal separations and frequently changing caregivers. Stress and the new environment may in turn alter the composition of the gut microbiota with possible implications for future health outcomes. As part of an ongoing longitudinal study, we investigated whether CC, as compared to being cared for by the parents at home, alters the composition of the gut microbiota, while accounting for known covariates of the infant gut microbiota. Stool samples of infants who entered CC (n=49) and control infants (n=49) were obtained before and four weeks after CC entrance. Using Redundancy analysis, Random Forests and Bayesian linear models we found that infant gut microbiota was not affected in a uniform way by entry to CC. In line with the literature, breastfeeding, birth mode, age, and the presence of siblings were shown to significantly impact the microbial composition.Peer reviewe

No evidence for association between late pregnancy maternal cortisol and gray matter volume in a healthy community sample of young adolescents

A compelling amount of animal and human research has shown that perceived maternal stress during pregnancy can affect the neurodevelopment of the offspring. Prenatal maternal cortisol is frequently proposed as the biological key mechanism underlying this link; however, literature that investigates the effects of prenatal cortisol on subsequent neurodevelopment in humans is scarce. By using longitudinal data from a relatively large community sample of mother-child dyads (N = 73), this pre-registered study prospectively examined the role of maternal prenatal cortisol concentrations on subsequent individual differences in gray matter volume (GMV) and hippocampal subfield volumes at the onset of puberty of the offspring (12 years of age). Two markers of cortisol, that is, evening cortisol and circadian decline over the day, were used as indicators of maternal physiological stress during the last trimester of pregnancy. The results indicate that prenatal maternal cortisol levels were not associated with GMV or hippocampal subfield volumes of the children. These findings suggest that late pregnancy maternal cortisol may not be related to the structural development of the offspring’s brain, at least not in healthy community samples and at the onset of puberty. When examining the influence of prenatal stress on offspring neurodevelopment, future investigations should delineate gestational timing effects of the cortisol exposure, cortisol assessment method, and impact of additional biomarkers, as these were not investigated in this study

Prenatal hair cortisol concentrations during the COVID-19 outbreak:Associations with maternal psychological stress and infant temperament

Background:  Maternal psychological stress during pregnancy, including stress resulting from disasters and trauma, has been linked to temperamental difficulties in offspring. Although heightened cortisol concentrations are often hypothesized as an underlying mechanism, evidence supporting this mechanism is not consistent, potentially because of methodological issues and low stress in the population.  Aim:  To address these issues, this preregistered study investigated the following associations between: 1) prenatal psychological stress and hair cortisol, as a biomarker for chronic stress, during the COVID-19 outbreak (i.e., as a major worldwide psychological stressor), and 2) maternal hair cortisol during the COVID-19 outbreak and later infant temperamental negative affectivity and orienting/regulation. Additionally, we explored whether associations were different for women with low versus high socioeconomic status (SES; maternal education and annual household income) and at different stages of pregnancy.  Method:  Pregnant women (N = 100) filled out online questionnaires during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Six months later, when most mothers were still pregnant or had just given birth, maternal hair samples were collected during home visits. When infants were six months old, mothers reported on their infant's temperament.  Results:  Although hierarchical regression analyses revealed no associations between prenatal COVID-19 psychological stress and hair cortisol during the COVID-19 outbreak, SES proved to be a moderator in this association. Only pregnant women with higher levels of SES, not lower levels, showed a positive association between work-related and social support-related COVID-19 worries and hair cortisol. Finally, prenatal hair cortisol was not associated with later infant temperamental negative affectivity and orienting/regulation.  Conclusion:  Although the COVID-19 outbreak proved to be a major psychological stressor worldwide, the physiological impact of the crisis might be different for pregnant women with higher SES as compared to lower SES

Childhood BMI in relation to microbiota in infancy and lifetime antibiotic use

Background: Children with high body mass index (BMI) at preschool age are at risk of developing obesity. Early identification of factors that increase the risk of excessive weight gain could help direct preventive actions. The intestinal microbiota and antibiotic use have been identified as potential modulators of early metabolic programming and weight development. To test if the early microbiota composition is associated with later BMI, and if antibiotic use modifies this association, we analysed the faecal microbiota composition at 3 months and the BMI at 5-6 years in two cohorts of healthy children born vaginally at term in the Netherlands (N = 87) and Finland (N = 75). We obtained lifetime antibiotic use records and measured weight and height of all children. Results: The relative abundance of streptococci was positively and the relative abundance of bifidobacteria negatively associated with the BMI outcome. The association was especially strong among children with a history of antibiotic use. Bacteroides relative abundance was associated with BMI only in the children with minimal lifetime antibiotic exposure. Conclusions: The intestinal microbiota of infants are predictive of later BMI and may serve as an early indicator of obesity risk. Bifidobacteria and streptococci, which are indicators of microbiota maturation in infants, are likely candidates for metabolic programming of infants, and their influence on BMI appears to depend on later a\ntibiotic use.Peer reviewe

Can gut microbiota throughout the first 10 years of life predict executive functioning in childhood?

Animal models suggest that the gut microbiota can influence cognitive development and functioning via various pathways. In line with that, a first human study found associations between infant fecal microbiota composition and cognition at 2 years of age. This longitudinal study investigated whether fecal microbiota composition in infancy and childhood is associated with executive functioning in childhood. We followed healthy individuals from birth to their 10th year of life. Executive functioning was assessed using the Digit Span working memory test at 10 years of age and the ecologically valid Behavior Rating Inventory for executive functioning at 8 and 10 years. Stool samples were collected at month 1, 3 and 4 as well as at 6 and 10 years. The V4 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA was analyzed to determine microbial composition at the genus level. Using established statistical techniques for microbiota analysis, we did not find associations between fecal microbiota composition and executive functioning after accounting for breastfeeding, maternal education, child sex and age. Our study results are most compatible with the absence or only a weak relationship between infant and childhood fecal microbiota composition and executive functioning in childhood in healthy community children

The risk and protective factors of heightened prenatal anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 lockdown

While pregnant women are already at-risk for developing symptoms of anxiety and depression, this is heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic. We compared anxiety and depression symptoms, as indicators of psychological distress, before and during COVID-19, and investigated the role of partner, social network and healthcare support on COVID-19-related worries and consequently on psychological distress. A national survey, conducted during the first lockdown in The Netherlands, assessed COVID-19 experiences and psychological distress (N = 1421), whereas a comparison sample (N = 1439) was screened for psychological distress in 2017–2018. During COVID-19, the percentage of mothers scoring above the questionnaires’ clinical cut-offs doubled for depression (6% and 12%) and anxiety (24% and 52%). Women reported increased partner support during COVID-19, compared to pre-pandemic, but decreased social and healthcare support. Higher support resulted in lower COVID-19-related worries, which in turn contributed to less psychological distress. Results suggest that a global pandemic exerts a heavy toll on pregnant women’s mental health. Psychological distress was substantially higher during the pandemic than the pre-pandemic years. We identified a protective role of partner, social, and healthcare support, with important implications for the current and future crisis management. Whether increased psychological distress is transient or persistent, and whether and how it affects the future generation remains to be determined

Rotavirus vaccine response correlates with the infant gut microbiota composition in Pakistan

Rotavirus (RV) is the leading cause of diarrhea-related death in children worldwide and ninety-five percent of rotavirus deaths occur in Africa and Asia. Rotavirus vaccines (RVV) can dramatically reduce RV deaths, but have low efficacy in low-income settings where they are most needed. The intestinal microbiome may contribute to this decreased RVV efficacy. This pilot study hypothesizes that infants' intestinal microbiota composition correlates with RVV immune responses and that RVV responders have different gut microbiota as compared to non-responders. We conducted a nested, matched case-control study comparing the pre-vaccination intestinal microbiota composition between 10 6-week old Pakistani RVV-responders, 10 6-week old Pakistani RVV non-responders, and 10 healthy Dutch infants. RVV response was defined as an Immunoglobulin A of >= 20 IU/mL following Rotarix (TM)(RV1) vaccination in an infant with aprevaccination IgA RV1 response correlated with a higher relative abundance of bacteria belonging to Clostridium cluster XI and Proteobacteria, including bacteria related to Serratia and Escherichia coli. Remarkably, abundance of these Proteobacteria was also significantly higher in Dutch infants when compared to RV1-non-responders in Pakistan. This small but carefully matched study showed the intestinal microbiota composition to correlate with RV1 seroconversion in Pakistan infants, identifying signatures shared with healthy Dutch infants.Peer reviewe