298 research outputs found
Prenatal exposure to maternal psychosocial stress and HPA axis regulation in young adults
No full textEpidemiological studies have reported associations between measures of size and weight at birth and disease risk in later life. Alteration in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in response to prenatal stress has been proposed as one underlying mechanism. The present study investigated in humans the association of prenatal psychosocial stress exposure with subsequent HPA axis regulation in adult life, with a focus on measures of response to challenge and feedback sensitivity. Healthy young adults whose mothers experienced severe stress during their pregnancy in form of major negative life events (e.g. death of someone close; prenatal stress (PS) group, n=31) and an age-matched comparison group (CG, n=30) underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and a 1 microg ACTH(1-24) stimulation test. In addition, a diurnal cortisol profile was assessed. ACTH concentrations following a standardized behavioural challenge paradigm (TSST) were marginally significantly higher in PS subjects than in CG subjects (p=.06). Pre-TSST adrenocortical (cortisol) levels were lower (p=.007), whereas the increase in cortisol in response to the TSST was higher (p=.03) in PS subjects compared to CG subjects. Cortisol concentrations following a pharmacological stimulation test simulating pituitary activity (ACTH(1-24) test) were significantly lower in PS than in CG subjects (p=.006). No differences emerged between the two groups in basal diurnal cortisol levels. This study provides first evidence in humans of an association between prenatal psychosocial stress exposure and subsequent alterations in the regulation of the HPA axis
Maximal telomerase activity capacity (mTAC) underlies the link between the cortisol response to stress and telomere length
No full textExposure to various forms of stress has been associated with shorter telomere length (TL). However, the molecular underpinnings of this effect are poorly understood. Based on an understanding of the key role of the reverse transcriptase enzyme telomerase in regulating TL, and building upon our previous work in developing and validating a biomarker of the capacity of cells to express telomerase (maximal telomerase activity capacity (mTAC)), we examine here the hypotheses that mTAC is positively associated with TL and that the effect of stress on TL is mediated by individual differences in mTAC. In a proof-of-principle study of 28 healthy women and men we quantified the cortisol response to a standardized stress challenge, the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), and we concurrently assessed peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) mTAC and TL. Our results indicated that higher mTAC levels were associated with longer TL (r = 0.50, p = .01). Moreover, mediational analysis suggested that the effect of the cortisol stress response on TL was mediated by mTAC (completely standardized beta = -0.17, bootstrap CI95 %: -0.44 to -0.01). Thus, our findings support the premise that individual differences in the capacity of cells to up-regulate telomerase may represent a key mediator in the link between stress and TL.Funding for this study was provided by grants from Neurocure (Innovation Projects) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (01KR1301A). P.D.W. and S.E.’s efforts were also supported, in part, by US PHS (NIH) grants (R01 HD-065825, R01 HD-060628 and R01 AG-050455). D.S.M. was supported by the Research Foundation Flanders (12X9620N, 12X9623N)
Influence of prenatal psychosocial stress on cytokine production in adult women
No full textThe aim of the present study was to determine the association between
prenatal stress and immune function in human adults. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 34 healthy young women whose mothers experienced major negative life events during their pregnancy (Prenatal Stress, PS group, mean age 25, SD 4.34 years), and from a female comparison group (n¼28, CG, mean age 24 3.40 years), were stimulated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA), and subsequent cytokine production was measured. A bias for T-helper 2 (Th2) cytokine production
due to an overproduction of IL-4 relative to IFN-g after PHA stimulation was observed in PS subjects. In addition, IL-6 and IL-10 were also significantly elevated. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to suggest a direct association between prenatal stress exposure and alterations in immune parameters in adult women
Prenatal psychosocial stress exposure is associated with subsequent working memory performance in young women
No full textThe aim of the present study was to examine the association between prenatal psychosocial stress exposure and subsequent prefrontal cortex-dependent working memory performance in human adults. Working memory performance was assessed using an item-recognition task under 10 mg hydrocortisone (cortisol) and placebo conditions in a sample of 32 healthy young women (mean age = 25 +/- 4.34 years) whose mothers experienced a major negative life event during their pregnancy (Prenatal Stress, PS group), and in a comparison group of 27 healthy young women (mean age = 24 +/- 3.4 years). The two groups did not differ in the placebo condition, however, subjects in the PS group showed longer reaction times after hydrocortisone administration compared with subjects in the comparison group (p = .02). These findings provide support for an association between prenatal stress exposure and the potential modulatory effect of cortisol on working memory performance in young adults, which may reflect compromised development of the prefrontal cortex in prenatal life
Prenatal psychosocial stress exposure is associated with insulin resistance in young adults
No full textContext: epidemiological studies across the world have reported strong associations between markers of an individual’s birth phenotype (e.g., birth weight) and subsequent risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Prenatal stress has been proposed as one of the underlying processes contributing to both birth phenotype and the physiology of the developing organism that underlies health and disease risk in later life. Objective: to determine the association between maternal psychosocial stress exposure during pregnancy and measures of glucose-insulin metabolism in the adult offspring.
Design and Participants: Healthy young adults whose mothers experienced major stressful life events during their pregnancy (n=36, Prenatal Stress, PS group) and a comparison group (n=22, CG) underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).
Main Outcome Measures: Plasma glucose, insulin and C-peptide levels in response to the OGTT.Results: glucose levels were not significantly different across the groups, however, PS subjects showed significantly elevated 2h insulin (p=.01) and C-peptide levels (p=.03), and a trend for a higher homeostatic model insulin resistance index (p=.07). These differences were independent of birth phenotype, family history of type 2 diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes, body mass index, pro-inflammatory state, and smoking. Conclusions: higher insulin responses reflect relative insulin resistance in these prenatally-stressed young adults and may predispose them to subsequently develop type 2 diabetes mellitus. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to provide evidence for a direct link in humans between prenatal psychosocial stress and alterations in glucose-insulin metabolic function. <br/
Acculturation and biological stress markers: A systematic review
No full textBACKGROUND: The association of acculturation with health among immigrant populations is believed to be mediated, in part, by acculturation-related stress and stress biology. OBJECTIVES: To review and qualitatively synthesize empirical findings on the relationship of acculturation with stress-related inflammatory and endocrine biomarkers and composite allostatic load (AL) scores. METHODS: A literature search was performed in the PubMed and PsycInfo databases. Article titles, abstracts or full-texts were screened and checked for match with the search criteria. Studies were eligible if they empirically tested the relationship between acculturation and inflammatory/endocrine stress biomarkers or composite AL scores, and were published in the English language. RESULTS: Among the 41 articles identified as relevant and included in this review, the majority were published after 2010, included adult Hispanic U.S.-based populations, used cross-sectional study designs, operationalized acculturation as a unidimensional construct, and varied considerably in the selection of covariates in the analyses. Acculturation was significantly associated with stress biomarkers in 29 studies, but the direction of effects varied across studies. Specifically, acculturation, operationalized as a higher orientation towards the host culture, was associated with inflammatory biomarkers in 10 of 14 studies, with endocrine stress biomarkers in 12 of 20 studies, and with composite AL scores in 7 of 8 studies. Overall, language-based proxy measures of acculturation were related to higher levels of stress-related inflammatory and endocrine biomarkers and to lower levels of AL scores, whereas nativity-, generation status- and length of stay-based proxy measures of acculturation were related to higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers and AL score. DISCUSSION: The majority of studies reported associations between measures of acculturation and stress biomarkers, however the directions of effects varied across studies. We suggest this heterogeneity may, in part, be a function of limitations imposed by cross-sectional research designs and unidimensional measures of acculturation measures, and we highlight the need for longitudinal studies and use of multidimensional measures of acculturation to better uncover the biobehavioral mechanisms and pathways linking acculturation with health outcomes
Parity does not alter baseline or stimulated activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis in women
No full textPregnancy is associated with considerable physiological adaptations, some of which long outlast the state of pregnancy. Although it is well documented that pregnancy produces alterations of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, the longer-term effects of pregnancy on this system have not been systematically examined in humans. Subjects in the present study were 159 nulliparous and 265 parous women. Data analysis revealed no impact of parity on baseline activity (salivary cortisol: response to awakening, F </= .03, day profile: F </= 3.89, both n.s.). In a subsample, similar results were obtained for dexamethasone-suppressed salivary cortisol levels (all F </= 1.45 n.s., n = 45), as well as salivary cortisol, total cortisol, and ACTH responses to stimulation with a psychosocial stress protocol (all F </= .93 n.s., n = 47). These findings suggest that parity is not associated with long-term alterations of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, and postpregnancy measures can, therefore, be used as proxy markers for a woman's prepregnancy status of this system
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