Stability and inter-family associations of hair endocannabinoid and N-acylethanolamines across the perinatal period in mothers, fathers, and children.

Analysis of endocannabinoids (ECs) and N-acylethanolamines (NAEs) in hair is assumed to retrospectively assess long-term EC/NAE concentrations. To inform their use, this study investigated stability of EC/NAE hair concentrations in mothers, fathers, and their children across the perinatal period as well as associations between family members. In a prospective cohort study, EC (AEA, 1-AG/2-AG) and NAE (SEA, PEA, OEA) levels were quantified in hair samples taken four times in mothers (n = 336) and their partners (n = 225) from pregnancy to two years postpartum and in offspring (n = 319) from shortly after birth to two years postpartum. Across the perinatal period, maternal and paternal hair ECs/NAEs showed poor multiple-test consistency (16-36%) and variable relative stability, as well as inconsistent absolute stability for mothers. Regarding children, hair ECs/NAEs evidenced poor multiple-test consistency (4-19%), no absolute stability, and either no or variable relative stability. Hair ECs/NAEs showed small to medium significant associations across the perinatal period within couples and parent-child dyads. Findings suggest hair ECs/NAEs during the perinatal period possess variable stability in adults, albeit more stability in fathers than mothers in this time. This highlights the need to further investigate factors associated with changes in hair ECs/NAEs across time. The first two years of life may be a dynamic phase for the endocannabinoid system in children, potentially characterized by complex within-family correspondence that requires further systematic investigation.

Hair glucocorticoids during pregnancy in the context of trauma exposure and their predictive value for the development of childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD) is gaining attention as a mental disorder with negative sequela for mothers and their offspring. Maternal trauma history is a well-known vulnerability factor for CB-PTSD symptoms (CB-PTSS). Furthermore, alterations of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis have been linked to both trauma exposure and PTSD development. Hence, we investigated whether trauma history was associated with long-term glucocorticoid (GC) levels during pregnancy and their predictive role for CB-PTSS. Further, we examined whether GCs act as a mediator in the relationship between trauma history and CB-PTSS and whether this was moderated by the subjective birth experience. METHODS: 212 women participating in the prospective cohort study DREAMHAIR provided hair samples for quantification of long-term integrated cortisol and cortisone levels prior to their anticipated birth date accompanied by measures of trauma history. CB-PTSS and subjective birth experience were assessed two months postpartum. FINDINGS: Trauma history predicted elevated hair cortisol and hair cortisone during the third trimester of pregnancy, however associations did not remain significant when Bonferroni correction due to multiple testing was applied. Trauma history also predicted higher CB-PTSS. Hair GC levels during pregnancy neither predicted CB-PTSS two months after birth nor mediated the relationship between trauma history and CB-PTSS. The subjective birth experience moderated the relationship of hair cortisol and cortisone with CB-PTSS. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that a history of trauma contributes to a higher risk to develop CB-PTSS and elevated long-term GC levels during the third pregnancy trimester. Further, the predictive role of hair cortisol and cortisone levels for CB-PTSS may depend on subjective birth experience. This highlights the need to consider the latter in future investigations when examining the role of stress-related biomarkers in more severely affected samples.

The impact of postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms on child development: a population-based, 2-year follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: Against the background of very limited evidence, the present study aimed to prospectively examine the impact of maternal postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms on four important areas of child development, i.e. gross motor, fine motor, communication and social-emotional development. METHOD: This study is part of the large, population-based Akershus Birth Cohort. Data from the hospital's birth record as well as questionnaire data from 8 weeks and 2 years postpartum were used (n = 1472). The domains of child development that were significantly correlated with PTSD symptoms were entered into regression analyses. Interaction analyses were run to test whether the influence of postpartum PTSD symptoms on child development was moderated by child sex or infant temperament. RESULTS: Postpartum PTSD symptoms had a prospective relationship with poor child social-emotional development 2 years later. This relationship remained significant even when adjusting for confounders such as maternal depression and anxiety or infant temperament. Both child sex and infant temperament moderated the association between maternal PTSD symptoms and child social-emotional development, i.e. with increasing maternal PTSD symptom load, boys and children with a difficult temperament were shown to have comparatively higher levels of social-emotional problems. CONCLUSIONS: Examining four different domains of child development, we found a prospective impact of postpartum PTSD symptoms on children's social-emotional development at 2 years of age. Our findings suggest that both boys and children with an early difficult temperament may be particularly susceptible to the adverse impact of postpartum PTSD symptoms. Additional studies are needed to further investigate the mechanisms at work.

Current and cumulative night shift work and subclinical atherosclerosis: results of the Gutenberg Health Study.

PURPOSE: The study examines the association between exposure to current and cumulative night shift work and subclinical parameters of atherosclerosis. METHODS: Participants of a population-based cohort study (the Gutenberg Health Study, N = 15,010) aged 35-64 years were examined at baseline (2007-2012). Investigations included measurements of arterial stiffness, vascular function [reactive hyperaemia (RH) index], and intima media thickness (IMT). Also, a complete job history (including up to 15 periods), occupational exposures, a variety of lifestyle, and dispositional variables were enquired. RESULTS: Night shift work was performed by 1071 out of 8065 currently employed individuals. The strongest association after adjustment for age, sex, job complexity level, being a manager, overtime work, and noise appeared for more than 660 night shifts within the last 10 years and a significantly increased arterial stiffness of 0.33 m/s. This reflects a 4 % flow velocity increase for individuals with more than 660 night shifts compared to non-night workers. Regarding the entire professional life, night shift workers showed a significantly decreased vascular function by -0.054 RH index points by using the same adjustment. IMT values did not differ statistically from non-night workers. Lifestyle and dispositional factors showed an influence on all used subclinical atherosclerosis parameters. CONCLUSIONS: The cross-sectional results demonstrate an association between night work and detrimental changes in the atherosclerotic process. The association is more pronounced with more years in night shift and is partly explained by lifestyle and dispositional factors. Longitudinal analyses are necessary to confirm the results.

[Mental disorders in women: Natural course during premenstrual phases, peripartum period and perimenopause]. / Psychische Störungen in den reproduktiven Phasen der Frau: Häufigkeiten, Verlauf und Besonderheiten.

Epidemiological studies indicate sex-specific differences in prevalence rates and the natural course of mental disorders. Affective, anxiety, somatoform and eating disorders are more prevalent in women than men, whereas substance use disorders occur more commonly in men, and some disorders are equally distributed in both sexes (e. g. psychotic disorders). The aim of this review is to depict the natural course of mental disorders during the reproductive stages (premenstrual phases, peripartum period, perimenopause) in women, including also neuroendocrine features associated with the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, puerperium and perimenopause. Recommendations for sex-specific diagnostic and therapeutic procedures are provided.