Department of Endocrinology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
Department of Clinical Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
J Neuroendocrinol. 2023 Aug;35(8):e13314. doi: 10.1111/jne.13314. Epub 2023 Jul 14.
Language development during early childhood is considered an important marker of fetal neurodevelopment. Prenatal cortisol exposure plays a critical role in maturation of the fetal brain; however, the effect on offspring language development needs further investigation. In this prospective observational study we aimed to evaluate the association between maternal third trimester cortisol and early longitudinal offspring language development in the Odense Child Cohort (OCC) and to test whether there were sex differences in the association. The study cohort included 1093 mother-child dyads (570 boys and 523 girls). Fasting morning serum (s-) cortisol was collected from third trimester (gestational week 26-28) pregnant women and measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Offspring receptive and productive vocabulary assessments by MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories parent reports were completed every third month from children age 12-37 months. Levels of cortisol were higher in women carrying a girl (858 ± 214 nmol/L) than in women carrying a boy (820 ± 222 nmol/L). Higher third trimester maternal cortisol levels showed a positive association with development of productive vocabulary in boys at age 12-21 months (OR = 1.23, SE = 0.07, p = .005) and age 22-37 months (OR = 1.09, SE = 0.06, p = .967). Higher maternal cortisol levels in the third trimester were positively associated with receptive vocabulary in girls at 12-21 months of age (OR = 1.16, SE = 0.05, p = .002). Maternal third trimester s-cortisol levels were positively associated with early language development in children at age 12-37 months.
儿童早期的语言发展被认为是胎儿神经发育的重要标志。产前皮质醇暴露在胎儿大脑成熟中起着关键作用；然而，其对后代语言发育的影响仍需进一步研究。在这项前瞻性观察研究中，我们旨在评估奥登塞儿童队列（OCC）中孕妇孕晚期皮质醇与早期纵向后代语言发育的关系，并检验该关系是否存在性别差异。该研究队列包括 1093 对母婴对（570 名男孩和 523 名女孩）。从孕晚期（妊娠 26-28 周）孕妇采集空腹晨血（s-）皮质醇，并通过液相色谱-串联质谱法进行测量。通过 MacArthur-Bates 交际发展量表家长报告，对 12-37 月龄的儿童每 3 个月进行一次接受性和产生性词汇评估。携带女孩的女性（858±214nmol/L）的皮质醇水平高于携带男孩的女性（820±222nmol/L）。孕晚期较高的皮质醇水平与 12-21 月龄男孩的产生性词汇发展呈正相关（OR=1.23，SE=0.07，p=0.005）和 22-37 月龄（OR=1.09，SE=0.06，p=0.967）。孕晚期较高的皮质醇水平与 12-21 月龄女孩的接受性词汇呈正相关（OR=1.16，SE=0.05，p=0.002）。孕妇孕晚期 s-皮质醇水平与 12-37 月龄儿童的早期语言发育呈正相关。
