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Disaster-related prenatal maternal stress, and childhood HPA-axis regulation and anxiety: The QF2011 Queensland Flood Study.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2020 08; 118:104716.P

Abstract

BACKGROUND

The fetal programming hypothesis suggests that prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) influences aspects of fetal development, such as the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis, enhancing susceptibility to emotional problems. No study (to our knowledge) has investigated this pathway considering development of preschool anxiety symptoms. Using data from the Queensland Flood study (QF2011), our objective was to determine whether toddler HPA-axis functioning mediated the association between aspects of flood-related PNMS and child anxiety symptoms at 4-years, and whether relationships were moderated by the timing of the stressor in utero or by the child's sex.

METHODS

Women, pregnant during the 2011 Queensland floods (N = 230), were recruited soon afterwards and completed questionnaires regarding their objective hardship (e.g., loss of personal property), subjective distress (post-traumatic-like symptoms) and cognitive appraisal of the disaster. At 16 months, indexes of the child's diurnal cortisol rhythm (awakening response, total daily output, diurnal slope [N = 80]), and stress reactivity (N = 111), were obtained. At 4-years, N = 117 mothers reported on their own mood and their children's anxiety symptoms; of these, N = 80 also had valid child cortisol reactivity data, and N = 64 had diurnal cortisol rhythm data.

RESULTS

A greater cortisol awakening response at 16 months mediated the relationship between subjective PNMS and anxiety symptoms at 4-years. Greater toddler daily cortisol secretion predicted more anxiety symptoms, independent of PNMS. The laboratory stressor did not elicit a cortisol response. PNMS effects were not dependent upon child sex nor on gestational timing of flood exposure.

CONCLUSIONS

Indexes of diurnal cortisol in toddlerhood may represent vulnerability for anxiety symptoms in preschoolers, both independent of, and following, exposure to disaster-related prenatal maternal subjective distress.

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Publisher Full Text (DOI)

Authors+Show Affiliations

McLean MA
Mater Research Institute-University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Simcock G
Mater Research Institute-University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Thompson Institute, University of Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia.
Elgbeili G
Schizophrenia and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Verdun, Quebec, Canada.
Laplante DP
Schizophrenia and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Verdun, Quebec, Canada; Centre for Child Development and Mental Health, Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Kildea S
Mater Research Institute-University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Molly Wardaguga Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Charles Darwin University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Hurrion E
Mater Research Institute-University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Lequertier B
Mater Research Institute-University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Cobham VE
Mater Research Institute-University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
King S
Thompson Institute, University of Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia; Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: suzanne.king@mcgill.ca.

MeSH

AdultAnxietyChild DevelopmentChild, PreschoolDisastersFemaleFloodsHumansHydrocortisoneHypothalamo-Hypophyseal SystemInfant, NewbornMalePituitary-Adrenal SystemPregnancyPregnancy ComplicationsPrenatal Exposure Delayed EffectsQueenslandSalivaSocioeconomic FactorsStress, PsychologicalSurveys and QuestionnairesWakefulnessYoung Adult

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

32479967

Citation

McLean, Mia A., et al. "Disaster-related Prenatal Maternal Stress, and Childhood HPA-axis Regulation and Anxiety: the QF2011 Queensland Flood Study." Psychoneuroendocrinology, vol. 118, 2020, p. 104716.
McLean MA, Simcock G, Elgbeili G, et al. Disaster-related prenatal maternal stress, and childhood HPA-axis regulation and anxiety: The QF2011 Queensland Flood Study. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2020;118:104716.
McLean, M. A., Simcock, G., Elgbeili, G., Laplante, D. P., Kildea, S., Hurrion, E., Lequertier, B., Cobham, V. E., & King, S. (2020). Disaster-related prenatal maternal stress, and childhood HPA-axis regulation and anxiety: The QF2011 Queensland Flood Study. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 118, 104716. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104716
McLean MA, et al. Disaster-related Prenatal Maternal Stress, and Childhood HPA-axis Regulation and Anxiety: the QF2011 Queensland Flood Study. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2020;118:104716. PubMed PMID: 32479967.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Disaster-related prenatal maternal stress, and childhood HPA-axis regulation and anxiety: The QF2011 Queensland Flood Study. AU - McLean,Mia A, AU - Simcock,Gabrielle, AU - Elgbeili,Guillaume, AU - Laplante,David P, AU - Kildea,Sue, AU - Hurrion,Elizabeth, AU - Lequertier,Belinda, AU - Cobham,Vanessa E, AU - King,Suzanne, Y1 - 2020/05/16/ PY - 2019/10/04/received PY - 2020/05/01/revised PY - 2020/05/12/accepted PY - 2020/6/2/pubmed PY - 2021/6/5/medline PY - 2020/6/2/entrez KW - Childhood anxiety KW - Cortisol awaking response KW - Disaster KW - Hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis KW - Prenatal maternal stress KW - Stress reactivity SP - 104716 EP - 104716 JF - Psychoneuroendocrinology JO - Psychoneuroendocrinology VL - 118 N2 - BACKGROUND: The fetal programming hypothesis suggests that prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) influences aspects of fetal development, such as the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis, enhancing susceptibility to emotional problems. No study (to our knowledge) has investigated this pathway considering development of preschool anxiety symptoms. Using data from the Queensland Flood study (QF2011), our objective was to determine whether toddler HPA-axis functioning mediated the association between aspects of flood-related PNMS and child anxiety symptoms at 4-years, and whether relationships were moderated by the timing of the stressor in utero or by the child's sex. METHODS: Women, pregnant during the 2011 Queensland floods (N = 230), were recruited soon afterwards and completed questionnaires regarding their objective hardship (e.g., loss of personal property), subjective distress (post-traumatic-like symptoms) and cognitive appraisal of the disaster. At 16 months, indexes of the child's diurnal cortisol rhythm (awakening response, total daily output, diurnal slope [N = 80]), and stress reactivity (N = 111), were obtained. At 4-years, N = 117 mothers reported on their own mood and their children's anxiety symptoms; of these, N = 80 also had valid child cortisol reactivity data, and N = 64 had diurnal cortisol rhythm data. RESULTS: A greater cortisol awakening response at 16 months mediated the relationship between subjective PNMS and anxiety symptoms at 4-years. Greater toddler daily cortisol secretion predicted more anxiety symptoms, independent of PNMS. The laboratory stressor did not elicit a cortisol response. PNMS effects were not dependent upon child sex nor on gestational timing of flood exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Indexes of diurnal cortisol in toddlerhood may represent vulnerability for anxiety symptoms in preschoolers, both independent of, and following, exposure to disaster-related prenatal maternal subjective distress. SN - 1873-3360 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/32479967/Disaster_related_prenatal_maternal_stress_and_childhood_HPA_axis_regulation_and_anxiety:_The_QF2011_Queensland_Flood_Study_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -