A Preliminary Investigation of Associations Between Traumatic Events Experienced During Pregnancy and Salivary Diurnal Cortisol Levels of Brazilian Adolescent Mothers and Infants

IF 1.6 4区医学 Q1 ANTHROPOLOGY American Journal of Human Biology Pub Date : 2025-02-04 DOI:10.1002/ajhb.70004

Kyle S. Wiley, Gisele Gouveia, Caroline Camilo, Verônica Euclydes, Catherine Panter-Brick, Alicia Matijasevich, Alexandre Archanjo Ferraro, Lislaine Aparecida Fracolli, Anna Maria Chiesa, Euripedes Constantino Miguel, Guilherme V. Polanczyk, Helena Brentani

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction

Interpersonal violence against women is a major global health problem that may have intergenerational effects. This study investigated associations between maternal experiences of interpersonal violence and other traumatic events and maternal and infant salivary diurnal cortisol in a cohort of adolescent mothers in São Paulo, Brazil.

Method

Adolescent mothers (14–19 years) participating in a home-visiting intervention were interviewed retrospectively about lifetime and pregnancy violence and trauma exposure. Mothers collected saliva at waking and before bedtime from themselves (n = 23) and their infants (n = 32) at 12 months postpartum. Multivariable regression models were used to examine associations between trauma history variables and salivary diurnal cortisol.

Results

Adjusting for the intervention group, infant sex, maternal age, non-supplement medication use, and sample collection time, we found that higher-than-average lifetime trauma exposure was associated with maternal evening cortisol (b = 0.472, p-value = 0.028). Lifetime assaultive violence exposure was also associated with maternal evening cortisol (b = 0.196, p-value = 0.02). Maternal exposure to traumatic events in pregnancy was positively associated with bedtime cortisol levels of infants (b = 0.21, p = 0.01). Trauma variables were not associated with maternal or infant morning cortisol levels.

Conclusion

Results suggest that maternal trauma history influences both maternal and infant postnatal cortisol regulation as indexed by evening cortisol levels. These results are consistent with models of fetal programming; however, future studies should investigate potential postnatal psychobiological pathways. Lifetime trauma exposure may also become embedded in the maternal hypothalamic–adrenal–pituitary axis regulation. Future studies are needed to consider other biological pathways in the intergenerational transmission of trauma.

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来源期刊

American Journal of Human Biology 生物-生物学

CiteScore

4.80

自引率

13.80%

发文量

124

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： The American Journal of Human Biology is the Official Journal of the Human Biology Association. The American Journal of Human Biology is a bimonthly, peer-reviewed, internationally circulated journal that publishes reports of original research, theoretical articles and timely reviews, and brief communications in the interdisciplinary field of human biology. As the official journal of the Human Biology Association, the Journal also publishes abstracts of research presented at its annual scientific meeting and book reviews relevant to the field. The Journal seeks scholarly manuscripts that address all aspects of human biology, health, and disease, particularly those that stress comparative, developmental, ecological, or evolutionary perspectives. The transdisciplinary areas covered in the Journal include, but are not limited to, epidemiology, genetic variation, population biology and demography, physiology, anatomy, nutrition, growth and aging, physical performance, physical activity and fitness, ecology, and evolution, along with their interactions. The Journal publishes basic, applied, and methodologically oriented research from all areas, including measurement, analytical techniques and strategies, and computer applications in human biology. Like many other biologically oriented disciplines, the field of human biology has undergone considerable growth and diversification in recent years, and the expansion of the aims and scope of the Journal is a reflection of this growth and membership diversification. The Journal is committed to prompt review, and priority publication is given to manuscripts with novel or timely findings, and to manuscripts of unusual interest.