TY - JOUR
T1 - The influence of maternal anxiety and cortisol during pregnancy on childhood anxiety symptoms
AU - McGuinn, Laura A.
AU - Tamayo-Ortiz, Marcela
AU - Rosa, Maria José
AU - Harari, Homero
AU - Osorio-Valencia, Erika
AU - Schnaas, Lourdes
AU - Hernandez-Chavez, Carmen
AU - Wright, Rosalind J.
AU - Klein, Daniel N.
AU - Téllez-Rojo, Martha Maria
AU - Wright, Robert O.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [grant nos. T32HD049311 , R01ES013744 , R01ES021357 , P30ES023515 , R00ES027496 , R24ES028522 , and K99ES032480 ].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2022/5
Y1 - 2022/5
N2 - Background: The etiology of child and adolescent anxiety remains poorly understood. Although several previous studies have examined associations between prenatal maternal psychological functioning and infant and child health outcomes, less is known about the impact of maternal anxiety specific to pregnancy and cortisol during pregnancy on childhood anxiety outcomes. Methods: Participants included 496 mother-child pairs from the PROGRESS longitudinal birth cohort in Mexico City. Anxiety symptoms were assessed at age 8–11 years during 2018–2019 using the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. Pregnancy-specific anxiety was assessed using an expanded version of the Pregnancy Anxiety Scale. Maternal biological stress response during pregnancy was assessed using salivary cortisol measures (area under the curve, cortisol awakening response, and diurnal slope). Linear regression models were used to estimate associations between maternal anxiety and cortisol in relation to continuous child anxiety symptom T-scores. Models were adjusted for maternal age, socioeconomic status, child sex and age, and gestational age at saliva collection. Results: We found that higher levels of pregnancy-specific anxiety in the mother were associated with higher anxiety symptoms in the child (β: 1.30, 95% CI: 0.19, 2.41). We additionally observed an association between higher maternal total cortisol output during pregnancy and higher anxiety symptoms in the child (β: 1.13, 95% CI: 0.25, 2.01). Discussion: These findings highlight the importance of screening for maternal pregnancy-specific anxiety and the need to identify interventions and support for mothers during pregnancy in order to promote healthy outcomes for mothers and their children.
AB - Background: The etiology of child and adolescent anxiety remains poorly understood. Although several previous studies have examined associations between prenatal maternal psychological functioning and infant and child health outcomes, less is known about the impact of maternal anxiety specific to pregnancy and cortisol during pregnancy on childhood anxiety outcomes. Methods: Participants included 496 mother-child pairs from the PROGRESS longitudinal birth cohort in Mexico City. Anxiety symptoms were assessed at age 8–11 years during 2018–2019 using the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. Pregnancy-specific anxiety was assessed using an expanded version of the Pregnancy Anxiety Scale. Maternal biological stress response during pregnancy was assessed using salivary cortisol measures (area under the curve, cortisol awakening response, and diurnal slope). Linear regression models were used to estimate associations between maternal anxiety and cortisol in relation to continuous child anxiety symptom T-scores. Models were adjusted for maternal age, socioeconomic status, child sex and age, and gestational age at saliva collection. Results: We found that higher levels of pregnancy-specific anxiety in the mother were associated with higher anxiety symptoms in the child (β: 1.30, 95% CI: 0.19, 2.41). We additionally observed an association between higher maternal total cortisol output during pregnancy and higher anxiety symptoms in the child (β: 1.13, 95% CI: 0.25, 2.01). Discussion: These findings highlight the importance of screening for maternal pregnancy-specific anxiety and the need to identify interventions and support for mothers during pregnancy in order to promote healthy outcomes for mothers and their children.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Cortisol
KW - Fetal programming
KW - Pregnancy
KW - Stress
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85126010786&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105704
DO - 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105704
M3 - Article
C2 - 35286908
AN - SCOPUS:85126010786
SN - 0306-4530
VL - 139
JO - Psychoneuroendocrinology
JF - Psychoneuroendocrinology
M1 - 105704
ER -