Children with maltreatment exposure exhibit rumination-like spontaneous thought patterns: association with symptoms of depression, subcallosal cingulate cortex thickness, and cortisol levels.

Background: Childhood maltreatment is associated with pervasive risk for depression. However, the immediate cognitive and neural mechanisms that mediate this risk during development are unknown. We here studied the impact of maltreatment on self-generated thought (SGT) patterns and their association with depressive symptoms, subcallosal cingulate cortex (SCC) thickness, and cortisol levels in children.

The association between history of prenatal loss and maternal psychological state in a subsequent pregnancy: an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study.

Background: Prenatal loss which occurs in approximately 20% of pregnancies represents a well-established risk factor for anxiety and affective disorders. In the current study, we examined whether a history of prenatal loss is associated with a subsequent pregnancy with maternal psychological state using ecological momentary assessment (EMA)-based measures of pregnancy-specific distress and mood in everyday life.

Method: This study was conducted in a cohort of = 155 healthy pregnant women, of which = 40 had a history of prenatal loss.

Psychological stress and cortisol during pregnancy: An ecological momentary assessment (EMA)-Based within- and between-person analysis.

Background: Although the linkage between psychological stress and cortisol is believed to mediate the association of stress with health outcomes, several studies have been unable to demonstrate this association. We suggest this inability may be a consequence of limitations in the measurement approach and/or reliance on analytic strategies that focus on associations across, rather than within individuals. The link between psychological stress and cortisol is of particular interest in the context of pregnancy and fetal development.

Maternal pro-inflammatory state during pregnancy and newborn leukocyte telomere length: A prospective investigation.

Introduction: Telomere biology plays a fundamental role in maintaining the integrity of the genome and cell, and shortened telomeres have been linked to several age-related diseases. The initial (newborn) telomere length (TL) represents a critically important feature of the telomere biology system. Exposure to a variety of adverse prenatal conditions such as maternal stress, suboptimal diet, obesity, and obstetric complications, is associated with shorter offspring TL at birth and in adult life.