Sex-dependent associations between maternal prenatal cortisol and child callous-unemotional traits: Findings from the Wirral Child Health and Development Study.
Sex-dependent associations between maternal prenatal cortisol and child callous-unemotional traits: Findings from the Wirral Child Health and Development Study.
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母亲产前皮质醇与儿童冷酷无情特征之间的性别依赖性关联：威勒尔儿童健康与发展研究的结果。
DOI：
10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.104409
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发表时间：
2019
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Wright N
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Wright N
背景妊娠期母体糖皮质激素升高可能以一种性别依赖的方式影响胎儿发育，导致杏仁核激活增加，增加女性内在性疾病的风险。基于杏仁核在冷酷无情(CU)特征中的激活减少的证据，我们预测怀孕期间母亲皮质醇的升高将与CU特征的降低和焦虑-抑郁症状的增加相关，只有在女孩中。在妊娠32周的两天内(清醒时、清醒后30min和晚上)测量唾液皮质醇，并计算曲线下面积的对数(LogAUC)作为昼夜皮质醇指数。结果通过皮质醇交互作用(p <； .001)发现，母亲皮质醇升高与儿童CU特征降低有关(P<0.01)，可解释25%的变异，在女孩中，但在男孩中没有。当控制相关的混杂因素和焦虑抑郁症状时，这种影响仍然存在。相反，母亲皮质醇升高并不预示女孩出现更高的焦虑抑郁症状。结论这项研究增加了越来越多的证据，表明怀孕期间母亲皮质醇升高对儿童早期精神病理的性别依赖性影响，这与杏仁核激活升高的调节作用一致。对于女孩来说，在何种情况下，这与对他人痛苦的高反应有关，这些特征具有低CU特征，或者与增加的情感症状有关，需要进一步研究。
BackgroundElevated maternal glucocorticoids during pregnancy may impact on fetal development in a sex-dependent way, leading to increased amygdala activation and increased risk for internalising disorders in females. Based on evidence implicating reduced amygdala activation in callous-unemotional (CU) traits, we predicted that elevated maternal cortisol in pregnancy would be associated with lower CU traits and elevated anxious-depressed symptoms, only in girls.MethodsParticipants were 225 members of a stratified subsample within an epidemiological longitudinal cohort (WCHADS). Salivary cortisol was measured over two days at 32 weeks gestation (on waking, 30-min post-waking and during the evening) and the log of the area under the curve (LogAUC) was calculated as an index of diurnal cortisol. Mothers reported on child CU traits and anxious-depressed symptoms at 2.5, 3.5 and 5.0 years of age.ResultsAs predicted there was a sex of child by cortisol interaction (p < .001) whereby elevated maternal cortisol was associated with lower child CU traits, explaining 25% of the variance, in girls, but not in boys. This effect remained when controlling for relevant confounders and anxious-depressed symptoms. By contrast, elevated maternal cortisol did not predict higher anxious-depressed symptoms in girls.ConclusionsThe study adds to growing evidence for sex-dependent effects of elevated maternal cortisol during pregnancy on early child psychopathology, consistent with mediation by elevated amygdala activation. The conditions under which, in girls, this is associated with heightened responsiveness to others’ distress characteristic of low CU traits, or with increased affective symptoms, require further study.