Braig Stefanie, Grabher Felix, Ntomchukwu Clarissa, Reister Frank, Stalder Tobias, Kirschbaum Clemens, Rothenbacher Dietrich, Genuneit Jon
Institute of Epidemiology and Medical Biometry, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2016 Mar;30(2):97-104. doi: 10.1111/ppe.12255. Epub 2015 Nov 3.
Psychosocial stress during pregnancy including anxiety and depression is known to have adverse health effects on newborns. However, measuring these psychological constructs is complex with psychological, endocrinological, and physiological systems being affected. Hair cortisol concentrations (HCC), assumed to reflect long-term endocrine consequences of stress exposure, represent a promising instrument for epidemiological research. However, the association between HCC and questionnaire-based instruments is unclear.
In the Ulm SPATZ Health Study, mothers were recruited shortly after delivery in the University Medical Centre Ulm, Germany between April 2012 and May 2013. HCC of 768 participants were determined in scalp-near 3 cm maternal hair segments, assumed to reflect cortisol exposure over the last trimester of pregnancy. Chronic stress, anxiety, and depressive symptomatology were self-reported in questionnaire-based instruments. Spearman correlation coefficients between HCC and these instruments as well as means of HCC in highly and low stressed subgroups were calculated.
HCC were not correlated with self-reported chronic stress, anxiety, or depressive symptomatology. Furthermore, the investigation of sub-populations did not reveal substantial differences of HCC across highly and low stressed women.
HCC were not found to correlate with self-reports of chronic stress, anxiety, or depressive symptomatology. Among other things, these findings could reflect problems with questionnaire-based assessments obtained shortly after delivery such as recall bias and/or suggest that associations between cortisol secretion and psychosocial stress are difficult to detect due to, e.g. a strong physiological increase of cortisol in the last trimester.
已知孕期的心理社会压力，包括焦虑和抑郁，会对新生儿的健康产生不利影响。然而，测量这些心理指标很复杂，因为心理、内分泌和生理系统都会受到影响。头发皮质醇浓度（HCC）被认为可以反映压力暴露的长期内分泌后果，是流行病学研究的一种有前景的工具。然而，HCC与基于问卷的测量工具之间的关联尚不清楚。
在乌尔姆SPATZ健康研究中，于2012年4月至2013年5月期间在德国乌尔姆大学医学中心产后不久招募母亲。在距头皮约3厘米的母亲头发段中测定了768名参与者的HCC，假定其反映了妊娠最后三个月的皮质醇暴露情况。通过基于问卷的测量工具自我报告慢性压力、焦虑和抑郁症状。计算了HCC与这些测量工具之间的斯皮尔曼相关系数，以及高压力和低压力亚组中HCC的平均值。
HCC与自我报告的慢性压力、焦虑或抑郁症状无关。此外，对亚人群的调查未发现高压力和低压力女性之间HCC有实质性差异。
未发现HCC与慢性压力、焦虑或抑郁症状的自我报告相关。这些发现可能反映了产后不久通过问卷评估存在的问题，如回忆偏差，和/或表明由于例如妊娠最后三个月皮质醇的强烈生理增加，难以检测到皮质醇分泌与心理社会压力之间的关联。
