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Prenatal hair cortisol concentrations during the COVID-19 outbreak: Associations with maternal psychological stress and infant temperament
Bruinhof,Nina Vacaru,Stefania V. van den Heuvel,Marion I. de Weerth,Carolina Beijers,Roseriet
Bruinhof,Nina
Vacaru,Stefania V.
van den Heuvel,Marion I.
de Weerth,Carolina
Beijers,Roseriet
Abstract
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.
Description
Funding Information: This research was supported by two Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research VENI grants (Veni.VI 0.191 G.025-to van den Heuvel, 016.195.197-to Beijers), and VICI grant (016. Vici.185.038-to de Weerth), an Early Career Award of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (to Beijers), and Sara van Dam Project Grant of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (to van den Heuvel), a Jacobs Foundation Advanced Research Fellowship (to de Weerth), two Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research Grants Corona: Fast-track data (to Beijers; to de Weerth), and research funding from the Herbert Simon Research Institute, Tilburg University (to van den Heuvel). We also would like to thank the participants for their time, and Loes van den Heuvel, Sofia Weidle Scatolin and Annefleur Veens for their help with data collection and management. Funding Information: This research was supported by two Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research VENI grants ( Veni.VI 0.191 G.025 -to van den Heuvel, 016.195.197- to Beijers), and VICI grant ( 016. Vici.185.038 -to de Weerth), an Early Career Award of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (to Beijers), and Sara van Dam Project Grant of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (to van den Heuvel), a Jacobs Foundation Advanced Research Fellowship (to de Weerth), two Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research Grants Corona: Fast-track data (to Beijers; to de Weerth), and research funding from the Herbert Simon Research Institute, Tilburg University (to van den Heuvel). We also would like to thank the participants for their time, and Loes van den Heuvel, Sofia Weidle Scatolin and Annefleur Veens for their help with data collection and management. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors
Date
2022
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Keywords
COVID-19, Communicable Disease Control, Disease Outbreaks, Female, Hair/chemistry, Humans, Hydrocortisone/analysis, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/physiology, Infant, Mothers/psychology, Pituitary-Adrenal System/physiology, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Stress, Psychological/complications, Temperament
Citation
Bruinhof, N, Vacaru, S V, van den Heuvel, M I, de Weerth, C & Beijers, R 2022, 'Prenatal hair cortisol concentrations during the COVID-19 outbreak : Associations with maternal psychological stress and infant temperament', Psychoneuroendocrinology, vol. 144, 105863. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105863