Salivary cortisol response to infant distress in pregnant women with depressive symptoms

• Published in: Archives of women's mental health 2015-04, Vol.18 (2), p.247-253
• Main Authors: Murphy, Susannah E., Braithwaite, Elizabeth C., Hubbard, Isabelle, Williams, Kate V., Tindall, Elizabeth, Holmes, Emily A., Ramchandani, Paul G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Affect; Anxiety; Anxiety - blood; Anxiety - psychology; Case-Control Studies; Complications and side effects; Cortisol; Demographic aspects; Depression; Depression - blood; Depression - psychology; Depression, Mental; Endocrine system; Female; Fetus; Fetuses; Gestation; Growth; HPA axis; Humans; Hydrocortisone; Hydrocortisone - blood; Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System - physiopathology; Hypothalamus; Infant; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental depression; Mood; Original; Original Article; Pituitary; Pituitary-Adrenal System - physiopathology; Pregnancy; Pregnancy - psychology; Pregnant women; Prenatal depression; Psychiatry; Psychological aspects; Psychotherapy; Risk factors; Saliva - chemistry; Saliva - metabolism; Stress; Stress (Psychology); Stress, Psychological - blood; Stress, Psychological - complications; Womens health
• ISSN: 1434-1816; 1435-1102; 1435-1102
• DOI: 10.1007/s00737-014-0473-0

The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis has been proposed as a potential underlying biological mechanism linking prenatal depression with adverse offspring outcomes. However, it is unknown whether the reactivity of this system to stress is altered in pregnant women experiencing depression. The objective of this study was to investigate whether salivary cortisol response to a distressed infant film is enhanced in pregnant women with symptoms of depression compared with non-depressed controls. Salivary cortisol and subjective mood responses to the film were measured in 53 primiparous women, between 11 and 18 weeks gestation. Both groups showed similar increases in state anxiety in response to the film, but there was a significantly increased cortisol response in women experiencing symptoms of depression. Depression during pregnancy is associated with increased reactivity of the HPA axis. This is consistent with altered HPA axis functioning being a key mechanism by which prenatal mood disturbance can impact upon fetal development.