TY - JOUR
T1 - A polyepigenetic glucocorticoid exposure score at birth and childhood mental and behavioral disorders
AU - Suarez, Anna
AU - Lahti, Jari
AU - Lahti-Pulkkinen, Marius
AU - Girchenko, Polina
AU - Czamara, Darina
AU - Arloth, Janine
AU - Malmberg, Anni LK
AU - Hämäläinen, Esa
AU - Kajantie, Eero
AU - Laivuori, Hannele
AU - Villa, Pia M.
AU - Reynolds, Rebecca M.
AU - Provençal, Nadine
AU - Binder, Elisabeth B.
AU - Räikkönen, Katri
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Academy of Finland , European Union's Horizon 2020 Award (grant number SC1-2016-RTD-733280 ) for RECAP, European Commission Dynamics of Inequality Across the Life-course: structures and processes (DIAL) (grant number 724363 ) for PremLife, EVO (special state subsidy for research) , Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation , Orion Research Foundation , Emil Aaltonen Foundation , Finnish Medical Foundation , Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation , Novo Nordisk Foundation , Päivikki and Sakari Sohlberg Foundation , Sigrid Juselius Foundation , Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust , Doctoral School of Psychology, Learning and Education , and University of Helsinki Research Funds .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/11
Y1 - 2020/11
N2 - Background: Maternal depression and anxiety during pregnancy may enhance fetal exposure to glucocorticoids (GCs) and harm neurodevelopment. We tested whether a novel cross-tissue polyepigenetic biomarker indicative of in utero exposure to GC is associated with mental and behavioral disorders and their severity in children, possibly mediating the associations between maternal prenatal depressive and anxiety symptoms and these child outcomes. Methods: Children (n = 814) from the Prediction and Prevention of Preeclampsia and Intrauterine Growth Restriction (PREDO) study were followed-up from birth to age 7.1–10.7 years. A weighted polyepigenetic GC exposure score was calculated based on the methylation profile of 24 CpGs from umbilical cord blood. Child diagnosis of mental and behavioral disorder (n = 99) and its severity, defined as the number of days the child had received treatment (all 99 had received outpatient treatment and 8 had been additionally in inpatient treatment) for mental or behavioral disorder as the primary diagnosis, came from the Care Register for Health Care. Mothers (n = 408) reported on child total behavior problems at child's age of 2.3–5.8 years and their own depressive and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy (n = 583). Results: The fetal polyepigenetic GC exposure score at birth was not associated with child hazard of mental and behavioral disorder (HR = 0.82, 95% CI 0.54; 1.24, p = 0.35) or total behavior problems (unstandardized beta = −0.10, 95% CI -0.31; 0.10, p = 0.33). However, for one standard deviation decrease in the polyepigenetic score, the child had spent 2.94 (95%CI 1.59; 5.45, p < 0.001) more days in inpatient or outpatient treatment with any mental and behavioral disorder as the primary diagnosis. Criteria for mediation tests were not met. Conclusions: These findings suggest that fetal polyepigenetic GC exposure score at birth was not associated with any mental or behavioral disorder diagnosis or mother-rated total behavior problems, but it may contribute to identifying children at birth who are at risk for more severe mental or behavioral disorders.
AB - Background: Maternal depression and anxiety during pregnancy may enhance fetal exposure to glucocorticoids (GCs) and harm neurodevelopment. We tested whether a novel cross-tissue polyepigenetic biomarker indicative of in utero exposure to GC is associated with mental and behavioral disorders and their severity in children, possibly mediating the associations between maternal prenatal depressive and anxiety symptoms and these child outcomes. Methods: Children (n = 814) from the Prediction and Prevention of Preeclampsia and Intrauterine Growth Restriction (PREDO) study were followed-up from birth to age 7.1–10.7 years. A weighted polyepigenetic GC exposure score was calculated based on the methylation profile of 24 CpGs from umbilical cord blood. Child diagnosis of mental and behavioral disorder (n = 99) and its severity, defined as the number of days the child had received treatment (all 99 had received outpatient treatment and 8 had been additionally in inpatient treatment) for mental or behavioral disorder as the primary diagnosis, came from the Care Register for Health Care. Mothers (n = 408) reported on child total behavior problems at child's age of 2.3–5.8 years and their own depressive and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy (n = 583). Results: The fetal polyepigenetic GC exposure score at birth was not associated with child hazard of mental and behavioral disorder (HR = 0.82, 95% CI 0.54; 1.24, p = 0.35) or total behavior problems (unstandardized beta = −0.10, 95% CI -0.31; 0.10, p = 0.33). However, for one standard deviation decrease in the polyepigenetic score, the child had spent 2.94 (95%CI 1.59; 5.45, p < 0.001) more days in inpatient or outpatient treatment with any mental and behavioral disorder as the primary diagnosis. Criteria for mediation tests were not met. Conclusions: These findings suggest that fetal polyepigenetic GC exposure score at birth was not associated with any mental or behavioral disorder diagnosis or mother-rated total behavior problems, but it may contribute to identifying children at birth who are at risk for more severe mental or behavioral disorders.
KW - Childhood mental health
KW - Cord blood methylation
KW - Glucocorticoids
KW - Polyepigenetic biomarker
KW - Prenatal psychopathology
KW - Prospective study
U2 - 10.1016/j.ynstr.2020.100275
DO - 10.1016/j.ynstr.2020.100275
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85097788984
SN - 2752-2895
VL - 13
JO - Neurobiology of Stress
JF - Neurobiology of Stress
M1 - 100275
ER -