The impact of telomere length on determining psychological and biochemical risk factors for cardiovascular diseases

Abstract

Background Antenatal depression is associated with heightened infant stress reactivity, but how long-lasting these changes are, what factors might protect against them, and what the impact is on psychiatric risk is unknown. Methods The Psychiatry Research and Motherhood-Depression study recruited antenatally depressed women, and controls, who are now being followed at child age 7-9 years. Children completed the Depression Self-Rating Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Salivary cortisol output was calculated as AUC from before, to 40minutes after, the Cold Pressor Task. Results Children born of antenatally depressed and control mothers did not differ on their self-reported depression (z=0.32, p=0.75), state (z=-1.10, p=0.27) or trait anxiety (z=1.19, p=0.24), or cortisol output (t(39)=-1.82, p=0.076). Cortisol output was significantly correlated with child trait anxiety (r=0.34, p=0.030). Conclusion These data indicate that, in this cohort, antenatal depression was not associated with child outcomes at 7-9 years. Instead, child cortisol output was associated with concurrent trait anxiety. This may suggest either that age 7-9 is too early, or, more encouragingly, that protective factors are present in this cohort which break the mother-child transmission cycle.