MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2022 Sep;107(5):565-567. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2021-323296. Epub 2022 Mar 14.
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis adaptation is a potential mechanism linking early life exposures with later adverse health. This study tested the hypothesis that preterm birth is associated with adaptation of diurnal cortisol regulation across infancy.
A secondary analysis was conducted of saliva cortisol measured morning, midday and evening, monthly, across infancy, as part of a birth cohort conducted in Linköping, Sweden. Diurnal cortisol regulation of infants born extremely preterm (n=24), very preterm (n=27) and at term (n=130) were compared across infancy through random coefficients regression models.
Compared with infants born at term, infants born extremely preterm (-17.2%, 95% CI: -30.7 to -1.2), but not very preterm (1.7%, 95% CI: -14.1 to 20.4), had a flattened diurnal slope across infancy.
Extremely preterm birth is associated with a flattened diurnal slope in infancy. This pattern of cortisol regulation could contribute to adverse metabolic and neurodevelopmental phenotypes observed in this population.
下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴适应是将早期生活暴露与后期健康不良联系起来的潜在机制。本研究检验了这样一个假设，即早产与婴儿期日间皮质醇调节的适应有关。
对在瑞典林雪平进行的一项出生队列研究中，作为部分内容测量的婴儿期每月清晨、中午和傍晚唾液皮质醇进行了二次分析。通过随机系数回归模型比较了极早产儿（n=24）、非常早产儿（n=27）和足月产儿（n=130）的婴儿期日间皮质醇调节。
与足月产儿相比，极早产儿（-17.2%，95%置信区间：-30.7 至-1.2）而非非常早产儿（1.7%，95%置信区间：-14.1 至 20.4）的婴儿期日间斜率变平。
极早产儿出生与婴儿期日间斜率变平有关。这种皮质醇调节模式可能导致该人群中观察到的不良代谢和神经发育表型。
