Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK.
J Affect Disord. 2010 May;122(3):218-23. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2009.06.034. Epub 2009 Jul 25.
Disturbances in cortisol secretion are associated with risk for psychiatric disorder, including depression. Animal research indicates that early care experiences influence hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning in offspring. Similar effects are suggested in human development, but evidence of longitudinal associations between observed early parenting and offspring cortisol secretion is extremely limited. We studied associations between parenting disturbances occurring in the context of maternal postnatal depression (PND), and elevations in morning cortisol secretion in the adolescent offspring of PND mothers.
We observed maternal parenting behaviour on four occasions through the first year and at five-year follow-up in postnatally depressed (n=29) and well (n=20) mothers. Observations were coded for maternal sensitivity and withdrawn behaviour. Basal offspring salivary cortisol secretion was measured at 13-years, using collections over 10-days.
Postnatal, but not five-year, maternal withdrawal predicted elevated mean and maximum morning cortisol secretion in 13-year-old offspring. There were no significant associations between maternal sensitivity and offspring cortisol secretion.
The sample size was relatively small, and effects tended to be reduced to trend level when covariates were considered. The correlational nature of the study (albeit longitudinal) limits conclusions regarding causality.
Individual differences in early maternal parenting behaviour may influence offspring cortisol secretion, and thereby risk for depression. Parenting interventions that facilitate active maternal engagement with the infant may be indicated for high-risk populations.
皮质醇分泌紊乱与精神疾病风险相关，包括抑郁症。动物研究表明，早期的养育经历会影响后代的下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴功能。人类发育中也存在类似的影响，但观察到的早期育儿与后代皮质醇分泌之间的纵向关联的证据极其有限。我们研究了产后抑郁症（PND）母亲背景下的育儿干扰与 PND 母亲的青春期后代早晨皮质醇分泌升高之间的关联。
我们在产后第一年和五年随访期间四次观察产后抑郁（n=29）和健康（n=20）母亲的育儿行为。观察结果根据母亲的敏感性和回避行为进行编码。在 13 岁时，通过 10 天的收集，测量了基础唾液皮质醇分泌。
产后但不是五年后的母亲回避行为预测了 13 岁儿童早晨皮质醇分泌的平均和最高值升高。母亲敏感性与儿童皮质醇分泌之间没有显著关联。
样本量相对较小，当考虑协变量时，效应趋于降低到趋势水平。研究的相关性（尽管是纵向的）限制了关于因果关系的结论。
早期母亲育儿行为的个体差异可能会影响后代的皮质醇分泌，从而增加抑郁的风险。促进母亲积极参与婴儿的育儿干预可能对高危人群有意义。
