Division of Biomedicine, Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales CF10 3AX, UK.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital Wales, Cardiff, Wales CF14 4XW, UK.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Jul 12;22(14):7458. doi: 10.3390/ijms22147458.
Depression is a common mood disorder during pregnancy impacting one in every seven women. Children exposed to prenatal depression are more likely to be born at a low birth weight and develop chronic diseases later in life. A proposed hypothesis for this relationship between early exposure to adversity and poor outcomes is accelerated aging. Telomere length has been used as a biomarker of cellular aging. We used high-resolution telomere length analysis to examine the relationship between placental telomere length distributions and maternal mood symptoms in pregnancy.
This study utilised samples from the longitudinal Grown in Wales (GiW) study. Women participating in this study were recruited at their presurgical appointment prior to a term elective caesarean section (ELCS). Women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and trait subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Telomere length distributions were generated using single telomere length analysis (STELA) in 109 term placenta (37-42 weeks). Multiple linear regression was performed to examine the relationship between maternally reported symptoms of depression and anxiety at term and mean placental telomere length.
Prenatal depression symptoms were significantly negatively associated with XpYp telomere length in female placenta (B = -0.098, = 0.026, 95% CI -0.184, -0.012). There was no association between maternal depression symptoms and telomere length in male placenta (B = 0.022, = 0.586, 95% CI -0.059, 0.103). There was no association with anxiety symptoms and telomere length for either sex.
Maternal prenatal depression is associated with sex-specific differences in term placental telomeres. Telomere shortening in female placenta may indicate accelerated placental aging.
抑郁症是孕妇中常见的情绪障碍，每七名女性中就有一人患有抑郁症。暴露于产前抑郁的儿童更有可能出生体重低，并在以后的生活中患上慢性疾病。这种早期接触逆境与不良结局之间关系的假设是加速衰老。端粒长度已被用作细胞衰老的生物标志物。我们使用高分辨率端粒长度分析来研究妊娠期间胎盘端粒长度分布与产妇情绪症状之间的关系。
本研究利用纵向威尔士成长（GiW）研究中的样本。参与这项研究的女性在进行择期剖腹产（ELCS）之前，在手术前预约时被招募。女性完成了爱丁堡产后抑郁量表（EPDS）和状态-特质焦虑量表（STAI）特质分量表。使用单端粒长度分析（STELA）在 109 个足月胎盘（37-42 周）中生成端粒长度分布。多元线性回归用于检查产妇在足月时报告的抑郁和焦虑症状与平均胎盘端粒长度之间的关系。
产前抑郁症状与女性胎盘的 XpYp 端粒长度呈显著负相关（B = -0.098， = 0.026，95%CI -0.184，-0.012）。母亲抑郁症状与男性胎盘的端粒长度之间没有关联（B = 0.022， = 0.586，95%CI -0.059，0.103）。焦虑症状与两性的端粒长度均无关联。
产妇产前抑郁与足月胎盘端粒存在性别特异性差异有关。女性胎盘端粒缩短可能表明胎盘加速衰老。
