Prenatal mood and anxiety disorders and associated cytokine changes.

Background: We examined whether women with prenatal mood and anxiety disorders would exhibit differential pro- and anti-inflammatory marker trajectories during the prenatal and postpartum periods compared to women without these disorders.

Methods: Approximately 179 pregnant women participated in a longitudinal study conducted in two urban areas. Blood samples for inflammatory markers were collected at six study visits.

Partner relationship quality and IL-6:IL-10 trajectories from pregnancy to a year after-birth.

Background: Inflammatory activity during pregnancy and the postpartum period shifts systematically due to pregnancy progression, delivery, and postpartum recovery. Factors that deregulate inflammatory activity increase the risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes and slower postpartum recovery. The IL-6:IL-10 or TNF-α:IL-10 ratio is potentially one way to capture peripheral inflammatory regulation; higher values indicate that anti-inflammatory IL-10 is less effective at regulating pro-inflammatory TNF-α or IL-6, skewing towards maladaptive pro-inflammatory profiles.

Pregnancy-specific anxiety and gestational length: The mediating role of diurnal cortisol indices.

Background: Preterm birth or shorter gestation is a common adverse pregnancy outcome. Pregnancy-specific anxiety is robustly associated with risk for shorter gestation. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) dysregulation, indicated by diurnal cortisol index variability [slope, area-under-the-curve (AUC) or cortisol awakening response (CAR)], could mediate associations between pregnancy-specific anxiety and shorter gestation.

Maternal anxiety, depression and stress affects offspring gut microbiome diversity and bifidobacterial abundances.

Uncovering mechanisms underlying fetal programming during pregnancy is of critical importance. Atypical neurodevelopment during the pre- and immediate postnatal period has been associated with long-term adverse health outcomes, including mood disorders and aberrant cognitive ability in offspring. Maternal factors that have been implicated in anomalous offspring development include maternal inflammation and tress, anxiety, and depression.

Anxiety in pregnancy and length of gestation: Findings from the healthy babies before birth study.

Objectives: Anxiety is prevalent in pregnancy and predicts risk of adverse birth outcomes. Many instruments measure anxiety in pregnancy, some of which assess defined as maternal concerns about a current pregnancy (e.g.

Pregnancy anxiety, placental corticotropin-releasing hormone and length of gestation.

Objective: High pregnancy anxiety is a consistent predictor of earlier labor and delivery. Placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (pCRH) predicts earlier delivery consistently and it has been identified as a biological mediator of the association between pregnancy anxiety and gestational length. However, studies have not examined whether changes in pregnancy anxiety are associated with earlier birth as mediated by changes in pCRH during pregnancy.

Inflammatory and immune marker trajectories from pregnancy to one-year post-birth.

Background: Pregnancy is an immunomodulatory state, with reported systematic changes in inflammatory and immune activity by pregnancy stage. Published data are inconsistent as to how inflammatory and immune markers change and recover across pregnancy and the postpartum period, or the sociodemographic, health and pregnancy-related factors that could affect biomarker trajectories. The purpose of this study is to describe inflammatory and immune marker trajectories from pregnancy to a year post-birth, and to test associations with sociodemographic, health and pregnancy-related variables.

The moderating role of resilience resources in the association between stressful life events and symptoms of postpartum depression.

Background: One in seven women experience postpartum depression, posing a serious public health concern. One of the most robust predictors of elevated postpartum depressive symptoms is major stressful life events that occur during pregnancy. Having greater resilience resources that promote successful adaptation to stressful demands may be protective in the face of stress during pregnancy.

Postpartum sleep loss and accelerated epigenetic aging.

Background: Insufficient sleep has been linked to accelerated biological aging in adults, providing a possible mechanism through which sleep may influence disease risk. In the current paper, we test the hypothesis that short sleep in postpartum would predict older biological age in women one year post birth, as indicated by accelerated epigenetic aging.

Methods: As part of a larger study of pregnancy and postpartum health (Healthy Babies Before Birth, HB3), 33 mothers provided blood samples for epigenetic aging clock estimates.

Low Prenatal Vitamin D Metabolite Ratio and Subsequent Postpartum Depression Risk.

Depression is a common complication of pregnancy and vitamin D deficiency is one biological risk factor for postpartum depression (PPD). We evaluated the ratio of 24,25(OH)D and 25(OH)D serum concentrations referred to as the Vitamin D Metabolite Ratio (VMR), a new candidate biomarker during pregnancyand its relationship with PPD. Women were enrolled in the first trimester of pregnancy and followed through four timepoints.

Epigenetic age and pregnancy outcomes: GrimAge acceleration is associated with shorter gestational length and lower birthweight.

Background: Advanced biological aging, as measured by epigenetic aging indices, is associated with early mortality and morbidity. Associations between maternal epigenetic aging indices in pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes, namely gestational length and birthweight, have not been assessed. The purpose of this study was to examine whether epigenetic age during pregnancy was associated with gestational length and birthweight.

Maternal prenatal anxiety trajectories and infant developmental outcomes in one-year-old offspring.

A longitudinal study of a sample of women and their offspring from two urban areas (N = 233) was conducted to test whether maternal prenatal anxiety trajectories from early to late pregnancy are associated with 12-month infant developmental outcomes, independent of maternal postpartum anxiety symptoms, prenatal and postpartum depressive symptoms, parity, birth outcomes and maternal education. Three types of maternal anxiety trajectories over the course of pregnancy were identified and labeled increasing, decreasing, and stable-low. Only increasing maternal prenatal anxiety was associated with 12-month infant outcomes, specifically lower Bayley-III scores on receptive language and gross motor skills.

Immune epigenetic age in pregnancy and 1 year after birth: Associations with weight change.

Problem: Epigenetic age indices are markers of biological aging determined from DNA methylation patterns. Accelerated epigenetic age predicts morbidity and mortality. Women tend to demonstrate slower blood epigenetic aging compared to men, possibly due to female-specific hormones and reproductive milestones.

Pro-inflammatory immune cell gene expression during the third trimester of pregnancy is associated with shorter gestational length and lower birthweight.

Problem: Altered maternal immune function predicts risk for shorter gestation and low birthweight. Few studies examine associations between prenatal immune cell gene expression and gestational length or birthweight. No studies examine which cell types drive associations.

History of the establishment of the Preterm Birth international collaborative (PREBIC).

Introduction: The primary aim of PREBIC is to assess the underlying mechanisms and developing strategies for preterm birth (PTB) prevention.

Materials And Methods: We used concept mapping and logic models to track goals. This paper reviews our progress over 13 years using working group activities, research developments, guest speakers, and publications.

Prenatal air pollution exposure, smoking, and uterine vascular resistance.

Background: Prenatal exposure to air pollution and smoking increases the risk of pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes, but pathophysiologic mechanisms are still debated. Few studies to date have examined the influence of air pollution on uterine vascular resistance and no studies have examined the independent impact of these exposures. We aimed to assess the impact of prenatal exposure to traffic-related air pollution and smoking on uterine vascular resistance.

Cardiovascular and Metabolic Risk in Women in the First Year Postpartum: Allostatic Load as a Function of Race, Ethnicity, and Poverty Status.

Objective: Allostatic load (AL) represents multisystem physiological "wear-and-tear" reflecting emerging chronic disease risk. We assessed AL during the first year postpartum in a diverse community sample with known health disparities.

Study Design: The Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development Community Child Health Network enrolled 2,448 predominantly low-income African-American, Latina, and White women immediately after delivery of liveborn infants at ≥20 weeks' gestation, following them over time with interviews, clinical measures, and biomarkers.

Pregnancy anxiety predicts shorter gestation in Latina and non-Latina white women: The role of placental corticotrophin-releasing hormone.

Objective: Previous research has shown that a woman's anxiety about her pregnancy predicts gestational length. Placental corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) is a stress-responsive peptide proposed as a mechanism. We examined placental CRH as a physiological mediator of the association between pregnancy anxiety and gestational length in Latina and non-Latina White women to replicate evidence of associations between pregnancy anxiety, placental CRH and gestational length; to test whether placental CRH levels or changes mediate effects of pregnancy anxiety on gestational length; to examine ethnic differences in pregnancy anxiety, placental CRH, and gestational length; and to explore whether the effects of pregnancy anxiety on gestational length as mediated by placental CRH vary by ethnicity.

Poor sleep quality increases symptoms of depression and anxiety in postpartum women.

This study evaluated the relationship between sleep quality and symptoms of depression and anxiety in women studied in pregnancy and postpartum. Scores on standardized measures of sleep (PSQI) at 6 months postpartum, and symptoms of anxiety and depression (OASIS, the PHQ9, and EPDS) were assessed by structured interviews in 116 women in pregnancy and/or postpartum. Poor sleep quality was significantly associated with greater symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Partner relationship satisfaction, partner conflict, and maternal cardio-metabolic health in the year following the birth of a child.

Intimate partner relationship quality during the child-bearing years has implications for maternal health. The purpose of this study was to test whether partner satisfaction, partner conflict, and their interaction predicted maternal cardio-metabolic health at 12-months postpartum. Women were recruited in 5 U.

Interactions between race/ethnicity, poverty status, and pregnancy cardio-metabolic diseases in prediction of postpartum cardio-metabolic health.

Prenatal health disparities exist for African Americans and low socioeconomic status (SES) individuals when compared to non-Hispanic Whites and people of higher SES, particularly in cardio-metabolic diseases. Furthermore, having had a pregnancy-specific cardio-metabolic disease, e.g.

Vitamin D deficiency and depressive symptoms in the perinatal period.

Depression affects 1 in 7 women during the perinatal period. Women with vitamin D deficiency may be at an increased risk for depression. This study investigated the relationship between maternal and cord blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and maternal depressive symptoms over the perinatal period.

Psychosocial and demographic predictors of postpartum physical activity.

Physical activity promotes better health outcomes across the lifespan, and provides physical and mental health benefits for women who have recently given birth. However, research has not adequately characterized physical activity levels or risk factors for inadequate physical activity during the postpartum period. The objective of the present study was to describe levels and correlates of physical activity at 6 months postpartum in mothers of diverse race/ethnicity (55% African American, 23% White, 22% Hispanic/Latina), with the majority living in or near poverty.

Vitamin D deficiency and depressive symptoms in pregnancy are associated with adverse perinatal outcomes.

Prenatal vitamin D deficiency and prenatal depression are both separately associated with adverse perinatal outcomes; however, to our knowledge no studies have investigated the effects of having both risk factors. Our objective was to determine to what extent vitamin D deficiency predicts adverse perinatal outcomes and whether elevated depressive symptoms in pregnancy places women at additional increased risk. This study was a secondary data analysis of prospective data collected from a cohort of pregnant women (N = 101) in an obstetric clinic of a large medical center.