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Schury K, Koenig AM, Isele D, Hulbert AL, Krause S, Umlauft M, Kolassa S, Ziegenhain U, Karabatsiakis A, Reister F, Guendel H, Fegert JM, Kolassa IT. Alterations of hair cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone in mother-infant-dyads with maternal childhood maltreatment. BMC Psychiatry 2017; 17:213. [PMID: 28587668 PMCID: PMC5461775 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-017-1367-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2016] [Accepted: 05/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Child maltreatment (CM) has severe effects on psychological and physical health. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the major stress system of the body, is dysregulated after CM. The analysis of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in scalp hair presents a new and promising methodological approach to assess chronic HPA axis activity. This study investigated the effects of CM on HPA axis activity in the last trimester of pregnancy by measuring the two important signaling molecules, cortisol and DHEA in hair, shortly after parturition. In addition, we explored potential effects of maternal CM on her offspring's endocrine milieu during pregnancy by measuring cortisol and DHEA in newborns' hair. METHODS CM was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Cortisol and DHEA were measured in hair samples of 94 mothers and 30 newborns, collected within six days after delivery. Associations of maternal CM on her own and her newborn's cortisol as well as DHEA concentrations in hair were analyzed with heteroscedastic regression models. RESULTS Higher CM was associated with significantly higher DHEA levels, but not cortisol concentrations in maternal hair. Moreover, maternal CM was positively, but only as a non-significant trend, associated with higher DHEA levels in the newborns' hair. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that the steroid milieu of the mother, at least on the level of DHEA, is altered after CM, possibly leading to non-genomic transgenerational effects on the developing fetus in utero. Indeed, we observed on an explorative level first hints that the endocrine milieu for the developing child might be altered in CM mothers. These results need extension and replication in future studies. The measurement of hair steroids in mothers and their newborns is promising, but more research is needed to better understand the effects of a maternal history of CM on the developing fetus.
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Affiliation(s)
- K. Schury
- 0000 0004 1936 9748grid.6582.9Clinical and Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 47, 89081 Ulm, Germany ,grid.410712.1Department of Child and Adolscent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Ulm, 89075 Ulm, Germany
| | - A. M. Koenig
- 0000 0004 1936 9748grid.6582.9Clinical and Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 47, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - D. Isele
- 0000 0001 0658 7699grid.9811.1Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz and vivo international, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - A. L. Hulbert
- 0000 0004 1936 9748grid.6582.9Clinical and Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 47, 89081 Ulm, Germany ,grid.410712.1Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Ulm, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - S. Krause
- grid.410712.1Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Ulm, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - M. Umlauft
- 0000 0004 1936 9748grid.6582.9Institute of Statistics, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - S. Kolassa
- SAP Switzerland, 8274 Tägerwilen, Switzerland
| | - U. Ziegenhain
- grid.410712.1Department of Child and Adolscent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Ulm, 89075 Ulm, Germany
| | - A. Karabatsiakis
- 0000 0004 1936 9748grid.6582.9Clinical and Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 47, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - F. Reister
- grid.410712.1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Ulm, 89075 Ulm, Germany
| | - H. Guendel
- grid.410712.1Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Ulm, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - J. M. Fegert
- grid.410712.1Department of Child and Adolscent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Ulm, 89075 Ulm, Germany
| | - I.-T. Kolassa
- 0000 0004 1936 9748grid.6582.9Clinical and Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 47, 89081 Ulm, Germany
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