The impact of maternal childhood abuse on maternal and infant HPA axis function in the postpartum period

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Sarah R. Brand, Emory University; Patricia Brennan, Emory University; D. Jeffrey Newport, Emory University; Alicia Smith, Emory University; Tamara Weiss, Emory University; Zachary Stowe, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2010-06-01
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.10.009
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Psychoneuroendocrinology
• ISSN: 0306-4530
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 5
• Start Page: 686
• End Page: 693
• Grant/Funding Information: Funding for this study was provided by a NARSAD Young Investigator Grant awarded to Brennan; the Emory University Silvio O. Conte Center for the Neurobiology of Mental Disease (MH58922); and a Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) on Sex and Gender Effects (MH68036).
• Keywords: PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS; Depression; Endocrinology & Metabolism; MAJOR DEPRESSION; WOMEN; Cortisol; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Neurosciences; Science & Technology; POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER; Child; Neurosciences & Neurology; SEXUAL-ABUSE; DEXAMETHASONE; Early life stress; HPA axis; SALIVARY CORTISOL; RESPONSES; HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS; Psychiatry; URINARY CORTISOL EXCRETION
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery; Biology, Neuroscience; Psychology, Clinical

Abstract

Background: Early life trauma, particularly child abuse, has been associated with aberrations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning in adulthood. However, the relationship of early abuse and later adult neuroendocrine changes may be moderated by additional factors such as comorbid psychopathology and recent life stress. Parental exposure to child abuse may have transgenerational effects, with offspring of abuse victims showing similar neuroendocrine profiles as their mothers. The majority of previous studies in this area focus on adult offspring, and the degree to which the effects of parental child abuse can be detected earlier in the development of the offspring remains obscure. Methods: The current study utilized a clinical sample of women with a history of MDD (N= 126), to examine the effects of maternal early life sexual and physical abuse (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ)) on both maternal and infant salivary cortisol levels during a laboratory stress paradigm at 6 months postpartum. Results: Maternal child abuse was associated with steeper declines in cortisol in the mothers and lower baseline cortisol in their infants. Comorbid maternal PTSD, current maternal depressive symptoms, and recent life stressors were significant moderators of maternal cortisol change. Maternal abuse history was associated with increases in cortisol levels in those mothers who experienced these additional stressors. Similarly, a history of early maternal abuse and comorbid PTSD was associated with greater increases in infant cortisol levels. Conclusions: Maternal childhood abuse was associated with HPA axis function in both the mother and the infant during the postpartum period.