Toddler hair cortisol levels are associated with maternal prenatal depression.

OBJECTIVES: Cortisol is an important metabolic hormone that regulates multiple physiologic systems. Cortisol metabolism is sensitive to early life environments, including that experienced prenatally. Limited research has evaluated factors that predict variation in maternal and offspring toddler hair cortisol, which is important since hair cortisol represents different dynamics of hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA)-axis function than more common salivary or serum measures. METHODS: To address this gap, we longitudinally evaluated whether maternal depression measured in pregnancy and 1 month postnatal was associated with maternal and offspring hair cortisol levels approximately 15 months after birth (n = 46 mothers, 40 toddlers; mean 15.6 months postnatal, SD = 2.9 months). RESULTS: Mean depression symptoms were highest during the prenatal period. Prenatal, but not postnatal, maternal depression was associated with offspring hair cortisol levels (B = 0.095, p = .01). Maternal hair cortisol was not associated with depression measured at either time point. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that offspring hair cortisol more than a year after birth is associated with maternal prenatal depression, consistent with previous research in salivary cortisol, suggesting that long-term offspring stress physiology may be influenced by conditions experienced in utero. These findings highlight the potential for hair cortisol-a minimally invasive and easy-to-collect measure- to index toddler HPA-axis dynamics.

A longitudinal study of how women's prenatal and postnatal concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic predicts their infants' social-emotional development.

Infant social-emotional development may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated associations between maternal pre- and postnatal pandemic-related concerns and social-emotional developmental risk. Data, collected in 2020-2021, came from 220 mothers (87% white, 6% Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% Asian, 1% American Indian, Mage = 32.46 years), and infants (53.18% male, Mage = 12.98 months) in the United States. Maternal postnatal pandemic-related concerns were associated with total risk scores (B = 6.09, p-value <.001) and offspring risk of scoring positive for problems related to inflexibility (B = 4.07, p-value = .006). The total score association was moderated by self-reported social support. Infants may be detrimentally impacted by the pandemic via maternal pandemic-related concerns. Maternal social support may buffer infants.

Global Public Health Nursing.

BACKGROUND: An often under addressed and tragic legacy of genocide is the conception of children from rape. While the experience has been documented from their mothers' perspective, the perspectives and needs of individuals born of genocidal rape has been under-studied. METHODS: We conducted an integrative review of all peer-reviewed articles that reported on studies conducted among individuals born of genocidal rape published through 2020. We used an inductive process to identify and describe the themes from those studies. RESULTS: Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria. Ten articles reported on youth born of genocidal rape in Rwanda aged between 16 and 21 years, and two articles represented the perspective of adolescents in the former Yugoslavia aged 1416 years. Four themes were indentified: (1) birth origin stories associated with the crime of the father, (2) fractured sense of belonging to the victim-mother, perpetrator-father, their families, and the community at large, (3) intergenerational legacy of trauma and family identity, and (4) strategies to move forward including knowing the truth about one's origin, mental health, and peer support. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that understanding increased risk of adverse health outcomes of youth born of genocidal rape could inform the design of evidence-based interventions for these and similar populations.

Associations between postpartum depression and assistance with household tasks and childcare during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from American mothers.

BACKGROUND: The early postpartum period is recognized cross-culturally as being important for recovery, with new parents receiving increased levels of community support. However, COVID-19-related lockdown measures may have disrupted these support systems, with possible implications for mental health. Here, we use a cross-sectional analysis among individuals who gave birth at different stages of the pandemic to test (i) if instrumental support access in the form of help with household tasks, newborn care, and care for older children has varied temporally across the pandemic, and (ii) whether access to these forms of instrumental support is associated with lower postpartum depression scores. METHODS: This study used data from the COVID-19 And Reproductive Effects (CARE) study, an online survey of pregnant persons in the United States. Participants completed postnatal surveys between April 30 - November 18, 2020 (n = 971). Logistic regression analysis tested whether birth timing during the pandemic was associated with odds of reported sustained instrumental support. Linear regression analyses assessed whether instrumental support was associated with lower depression scores as measured via the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression survey. RESULTS: Participants who gave birth later in the pandemic were more likely to report that the pandemic had not affected the help they received with household work and newborn care (p < 0.001), while access to childcare for older children appeared to vary non-linearly throughout the pandemic. Additionally, respondents who reported that the pandemic had not impacted their childcare access or help received around the house displayed significantly lower depression scores compared to participants who reported pandemic-related disruptions to these support types (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The maintenance of postpartum instrumental support during the pandemic appears to be associated with better maternal mental health. Healthcare providers should therefore consider disrupted support systems as a risk factor for postpartum depression and ask patients how the pandemic has affected support access. Policymakers seeking to improve parental wellbeing should design strategies that reduce disease transmission, while facilitating safe interactions within immediate social networks (e.g., through investment in COVID-19 testing and contact tracing). Cumulatively, postpartum instrumental support represents a potential tool to protect against depression, both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19-related financial stress associated with higher likelihood of depression among pregnant women living in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented levels of unemployment and financial strain for many Americans. Among the individuals impacted by financial strain are pregnant women, for whom added financial stress may be particularly impactful due to the costs associated with prenatal care and providing for a newborn. Financial stress has been previously associated with elevated depression symptoms among pregnant women, which could have significant impacts on birth outcomes and long-term offspring health. However, the impacts of COVID-19-associated financial stress on maternal depression in pregnancy has not been investigated. METHODS: Here, we evaluated whether COVID-19-associated financial stress was associated with increased likelihood of a clinically significant depression score (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Score ≥ 15) among pregnant women living in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data come from an online survey administered to a convenience sample in April 2020 (N = 2099). RESULTS: Forty-three percent of participants reported experiencing financial stress as a result of the pandemic, while 24% of participants had a clinically significant depression score. COVID-19-related financial stress was significantly associated with increased likelihood of a clinically significant depression score, even after adjustment for covariates including participant education and income (adjusted Odds Ratio: 2.23, 95% CI = 1.80, 2.77, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Financial stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with more than two times the likelihood of depression during pregnancy, which could impact birth outcomes and long-term offspring health.

Prenatal Stress and Early Childhood Body Mass Index: A Path Analysis Approach.

OBJECTIVES: Stress experienced by mothers during the prenatal period can have negative impacts on offspring development. Elevated BMI in childhood in response to early stress experience is a particularly critical outcome of interest since high BMI in childhood is associated with diabetes, heart disease and stroke in later life. The primary objective of this study was to analyze pathways between prenatal stress and early childhood BMI at 54-months of age and to begin to explore ethnic variations in these pathways. METHODS: This study used the Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) dataset, which is a longitudinal, representative birth cohort study that began with recruiting pregnant women in 2009 and 2010 in Auckland, New Zealand. Path analysis modeling was used to explore risk and protective pathways between prenatal maternal stress and early childhood body mass index (BMI) at 54-months of age and differences by ethnicity (n = 5510). RESULTS: Prenatal stress was positively associated with early childhood BMI at 54-months and maternal nutrition behaviors and length of exclusive breastfeeding mediated this direct relationship (χ2 (1) = 0.83, p = 0.36; AIC = 50,496). Mediation and moderation paths varied by ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE: These findings contribute to the understanding of the intergenerational transmission of stress with respect to early childhood obesity. Reducing early stress exposure and/or addressing mediating and moderating factors linking stress experience with obesity development may prove to be more effective than attempting to alter health behaviors and trajectories in adulthood.

Protective resources that promote wellbeing among New Zealand moms with young children facing socioeconomic disadvantage.

Poor maternal mental health and well-being during early stages of parenting impact child developmental outcomes. The primary objective of this study was to explore protective resources that may confer resilience among mothers living in low resourced neighborhoods in New Zealand. A purposive, non-probabilistic sampling method was used to recruit an ethnically representative sample of mothers with children under the age of five living in high deprivation neighborhoods in Auckland, New Zealand (n = 74). Data was collected via focus groups and interviews. Analyses consisted of both a deductive, theory-driven approach, and an inductive, data-driven approach. The most frequently mentioned resources that supported positive mental health and well-being included: 1) social support, and specifically family and instrumental support; 2) neighborhood cohesion, including collective efficacy and neighborhood permanence; and 3) alignment with social and cultural norms, though tensions surrounding cultural identity were also identified as sources of stress by some mothers. These findings highlight how the socioecological context impacts subjective perceptions of environmental demands and modifiable factors that may be promoted to improve maternal mental health and well-being and subsequent child health and development outcomes.

The influence of experiential knowledge and societal perceptions on decision-making regarding non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT).

BACKGROUND: Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) allows women to access genetic information about their fetuses without the physical risk inherent to prior testing methods. The advent of NIPT technology has led to concerns regarding the quality and process of informed consent, as a view of NIPT as "routine" could impair women's considered approach when choosing to undergo testing. Prior studies evaluating NIPT decision-making have focused on the clinical encounter as the primary environment for acquisition of biomedical information and decision formation. While important, this conceptualization fails to consider how additional sources of knowledge, including embodied and empathetic experiential knowledge, shape perceptions of risk and the societal use of NIPT. METHODS: In order to address this issue, qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 25 women who had been offered NIPT were performed. Participants came from a well-resourced, rural setting near a major academic medical center in the US. Women were categorized by NIPT use/non-use as well as whether their described decision-making process was perceived as making a significant decision requiring contemplation ("significant") versus a rapid or immediate decision ("routinized"). A constructivist general inductive approach was used to explore themes in the data, develop a framework of NIPT decision-making, and compare the perceptions of women with differential decision-making processes and outcomes. RESULTS: A framework for decision-making regarding NIPT was developed based on three emergent factors: perceptions of the societal use of NIPT, expected emotional impact of genetic information, and perceived utility of genetic information. Analysis revealed that perceptions of widespread use of NIPT, pervasive societal narratives of NIPT use as "forward-thinking," and a perception of information as anxiety-relieving contributed to routinized uptake of NIPT. In contrast, women who displayed a lack of routinization expressed fewer stereotypes regarding the audience for NIPT and relied on communication with their social networks to consider how they might use the information provided by NIPT. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study reveal the societal narratives and perceptions that shape differential decision-making regarding NIPT in the U.S. CONTEXT: Understanding and addressing these perceptions that influence NIPT decision-making, especially routinized uptake of NIPT, is important as the use and scope of this technology increases.

The Impact of Individual and Parental American Indian Boarding School Attendance on Chronic Physical Health of Northern Plains Tribes.

This study investigated the relationship of American Indian boarding school attendance and chronic physical health. We hypothesized boarding school attendance would be associated with an increased number of chronic physical health problems. We also examined the relationship between boarding school attendance and the 15 chronic health problems that formed the count of the chronic health conditions. American Indian attendees had a greater count of chronic physical health problems compared with nonattendees. Father's attendance was independently associated with chronic physical health problems. Attendees were more likely to have tuberculosis, arthritis, diabetes, anemia, high cholesterol, gall bladder disease, and cancer than nonattendees.

The relationship of five boarding school experiences and physical health status among Northern Plains Tribes.

PURPOSE: American Indian (AI) boarding school attendance is related to poor physical health status; however, little is known about how specific aspects of this experience contribute to poor health. Five experiences (age of first attendance, limited family visits, forced church attendance, prohibition on practicing AI culture and traditions, and punishment for use of AI language) may be independently associated with physical health status in adulthood. We expected the effect to be greater for those who began boarding school at older ages. METHODS: Data on AI boarding school attenders (n = 771) came from the AI-Service Utilization, Psychiatric Epidemiology, Risk and Protective Factors Project. Multiple linear regression models examined the association of these five experiences with physical health status. Additionally, we conducted a separate set of regressions to test for an interaction effect of age of first attendance. RESULTS: Each of the five experiences noted above were independently associated with poorer physical health status compared to those who did not have these experiences. An interaction effect for those punished for use of AI language and who were aged 8 or older was confirmed. CONCLUSIONS: Findings are consistent with reports that boarding school attendance is related to poor AI adult health. To inform AI health programs, the relationship of specific diseases and boarding school attendance should be considered.

Circadian cortisol dynamics across reproductive stages and in relation to breastfeeding in the Philippines.

OBJECTIVE: An increase in cortisol during human pregnancy helps coordinate the onset of parturition, and can have long-term effects on offspring biology. Maternal cortisol can also be transferred to offspring via breast milk during lactation. However, little is known about how diurnal cortisol profiles vary by trimester of pregnancy or during the postpartum period. Here, we describe diurnal cortisol profiles among a large cross-sectional sample of healthy Filipino young adult women varying in reproductive status and, during the postpartum period, in whether or not they are breastfeeding. METHODS: Salivary cortisol, anthropometric, and questionnaire data were obtained from participants in a birth cohort in metropolitan Cebu, Philippines (N = 741; age 20.8-22.4 years). Cortisol was assessed at waking, thirty minutes after waking (cortisol awakening response, CAR), and before bed. RESULTS: Compared with nulliparous women, morning cortisol was roughly 50% higher among women in late gestation, while evening cortisol was roughly 4-fold higher and the CAR was lower. Postpartum waking and evening cortisol were lower among currently breastfeeding women compared to nulliparous women, but were comparable in the absence of breastfeeding. The CAR was significantly lower among postpartum women compared to nulliparous women irrespective of breastfeeding status. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are consistent with known alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function during reproduction, and in particular point to marked and progressive elevation in maternal cortisol during the course of gestation. Cortisol appears to return to nulliparous levels after parturition, with levels suppressed below nulliparous levels during lactation.

Prenatal stress exposure and early childhood BMI: Exploring associations in a New Zealand context.

OBJECTIVES: The primary purpose of this study was to (i) examine associations between prenatal objective vulnerability and subjective stress, and (ii) investigate the relationships between prenatal vulnerability and subjective stress and early childhood BMI at 24- and 54- months of age after controlling for covariates. METHODS: The Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) longitudinal study provided information on 5839 pregnant women and their children to assess the study objectives. Vulnerability, operationalized by nine objective-risk factors, and subjective stress, operationalized by the Perceived Stress Scale, were independently investigated. Hierarchical linear regression models were conducted to analyze the associations between both prenatal measures and childhood BMI at 24- and 54- months of age. RESULTS: Correlations between subjective stress and objective vulnerability were low but significant (r = .28, P < .01). Exposure to one additional risk factor during pregnancy was significantly associated with a .11 increase in BMI z-score at 24-months (P < .01) and a .15 increase in BMI z-score at 54-months (P < .01), after controlling for covariates including maternal prepregnancy BMI. Subjective prenatal stress was not significantly associated with either child BMI outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Vulnerability and subjective stress were minimally correlated in this sample. Vulnerability, but not subjective stress, was associated with childhood BMI at 24- and 54- months of age. This study informs our understanding of how risk exposures and stress responses early in life impacts offspring obesity risk, and it may help identify strategies that decrease early life predisposition to adult disease.

Racial discrimination associated with higher diastolic blood pressure in a sample of American Indian adults.

OBJECTIVES: Hypertension prevalence is high among American Indians (AIs). AIs experience a substantial burden of interpersonal racial discrimination, which in other populations has been associated with higher blood pressure. The purpose of this study is to understand whether racial discrimination experiences are associated with higher blood pressure in AIs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used the Everyday Discrimination Scale to evaluate the relationship between discrimination and measured blood pressure among 77 AIs from two reservation communities in the Northern Plains. We used multivariate linear regression to evaluate the association of racial discrimination with systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively. Racial discrimination, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure were analyzed as continuous variables. All analyses adjusted for sex, waist circumference, age, posttraumatic stress disorder status, and education. RESULTS: We found that 61% of participants experienced discrimination that they attributed to their race or ancestry. Racial discrimination was associated with significantly higher diastolic blood pressure (ß = 0.22, SE = 0.09, p = .02), and with a similar non-significant trend toward higher systolic blood pressure (ß = 0.25, SE = 0.15, p = .09). CONCLUSION: The results of this analysis suggest that racial discrimination may contribute to higher diastolic blood pressure within Native communities. These findings highlight one pathway through which the social environment can shape patterns of biology and health in AI and other socially and politically marginalized groups.

Epigenetics for anthropologists: An introduction to methods.

The study of epigenetics, or chemical modifications to the genome that may alter gene expression, is a growing area of interest for social scientists. Anthropologists and human biologists are interested in epigenetics specifically, as it provides a potential link between the environment and the genome, as well as a new layer of complexity for the study of human biological variation. In pace with the rapid increase in interest in epigenetic research, the range of methods has greatly expanded over the past decade. The primary objective of this article is to provide an overview of the current methods for assaying DNA methylation, the most commonly studied epigenetic modification. We will address considerations for all steps required to plan and conduct an analysis of DNA methylation, from appropriate sample collection, to the most commonly used methods for laboratory analyses of locus-specific and genome-wide approaches, and recommendations for statistical analyses. Key challenges in the study of DNA methylation are also discussed, including tissue specificity, the stability of measures, timing of sample collection, statistical considerations, batch effects, and challenges related to analysis and interpretation of data. Our hope is that this review serves as a primer for anthropologists and human biologists interested in incorporating epigenetic data into their research programs.

The vitamin D hypothesis revisited: race-based disparities in birth outcomes in the United States and ultraviolet light availability.

Skin color has been proposed to contribute to race-based health disparities in the United States because of differences in ultraviolet (UV) light-induced vitamin D synthesis. The prediction of this hypothesis, herein named the UVD hypothesis, is that racial disparities in health outcomes are correlated with UV light availability. This paper investigates whether UV light availability is associated with disparities in the rates of low birth weight (LBW) and preterm birth (PTB) between whites and blacks, because these outcomes are thought to be influenced by vitamin D status and to shape disease risk in later life. Data on LBW and PTB from 2007 (n = 2,825,620 births) were compared with data on UV light exposure across the United States. Contrary to the predictions of the UVD hypothesis, LBW and PTB rate disparities were greatest in states with the highest UV light exposure. Notably, income inequality was positively and significantly related to LBW and PTB disparities, even after controlling for UV light availability. The results of this analysis demonstrate that there is a significant environmental gradient in racial disparities in birth outcomes in the United States, but other social or environmental factors associated with living in the southern United States are likely stronger contributors to disparities in birth outcomes than UV light-induced vitamin D status.

Early origins of health disparities: material deprivation predicts maternal evening cortisol in pregnancy and offspring cortisol reactivity in the first few weeks of life.

OBJECTIVES: Maternal hypothalamic pituitary adrenal-axis function regulates production of the stress hormone cortisol, which during pregnancy can cross the placenta and have lasting impacts on fetal growth and development. This article provides a preliminary test of the hypothesis that a woman's socioeconomic status (SES) predicts her cortisol during pregnancy and her offspring's cortisol during the early postnatal period among an ethnically diverse sample in Auckland, New Zealand to evaluate whether differences in cortisol contribute to the intergenerational inheritance of health disparities within this population. METHODS: Maternal saliva samples were collected at waking and prior to sleep on 2 days in late pregnancy (34-36 weeks gestation; N = 55), and a subset of offspring saliva was collected before (N = 48) and 20 min after a standard vaccination at 6 weeks of age (N = 19). SES was quantified using a locally validated index of material deprivation, the NZ Deprivation Index for individuals (NZiDep). RESULTS: We found that, after controlling for ethnicity and other covariates, women with higher NZiDep scores had significantly higher evening but similar morning cortisol, consistent with a pattern of chronic strain. Infants of women reporting greater material deprivation had elevated cortisol response to vaccination. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that maternal SES experience impacts maternal cortisol in pregnancy and offspring cortisol reactivity soon after birth, with potential long-term effects on offspring biology and health. Additional research is needed to clarify how biological and behavioral factors in both the prenatal and postnatal period facilitate this relationship.

Commemorating the monkey bars, catalyst of debate at the intersection of human evolutionary biology and public health.

Play is an essential part of childhood, and growing attention has focused on the potential health benefits of 'risky' or 'thrill-seeking' play. Such play behavior is readily observed on any playground, where it can sometimes lead to injuries--most often from fall impacts--that require medical attention. Monkey bars account for ~7% of childhood arm fractures in the USA, an alarming statistic that raises difficult questions over its costs and benefits. Many authors view monkey bars as a public health hazard, but it is plausible that our childhood impulse toward thrill-seeking play is a result of selective pressures throughout our primate evolutionary history. Indeed, emerging evidence suggests that the developmental benefits of thrill-seeking play extend into adulthood, outweighing the occasional costs of injury. Disparate and consequential, these dueling perspectives have fueled debate among health professionals and policymakers, but with little attention to the work of biological anthropologists. Here we call attention to the hominin fossil record and play behaviors of non-human primates, providing a novel perspective that bolsters arguments for the adaptive significance of thrill-seeking play. The moment for such a review is timely, for it commemorates the centennial anniversaries of two playground icons: the jungle gym and monkey bars.

Association between maternal depression symptoms and child telomere length.

The biological mechanisms that explain how adverse early life events influence adult disease risk are poorly understood. One proposed mechanism is via the induction of accelerated biological aging, for which telomere length is considered a biomarker. We aimed to determine if maternal depression pre- and post-partum was associated with telomere length in children at 4 years of age (n = 4299). Mothers completed structured questionnaires assessing depression during pregnancy (Edinburgh Depression Scale), at 9 months (Edinburgh Depression Scale), and at 54 months postpartum (Patient Health Questionnaire 9). Regression methods were used to investigate the relationship between telomere length (DNA from saliva) and maternal depression score recorded at each stage. Significant covariates included in the final model were: maternal age at pregnancy; child sex; child ethnicity; gestational age group, and rurality group. Child telomere length was found to be longer if their mother had a higher depression score at both postpartum time points tested (9 months of age; coefficient 0.003, SE = 0.001, P = 0.01, 54 months of age; coefficient 0.003, SE = 0.002, P = 0.02). Although these findings seem paradoxical, increased telomere length may be an adaptive response to early life stressors. We propose several testable hypotheses for these results and to determine if the positive association between depression and telomere length is a developmental adaptation or an indirect consequence of environmental factors.