title: Maternal stress-induced reduction in birth weight as a marker for adult affective state.
abstract: It is known that adverse events experienced by a pregnant woman may be reflected upon the developing fetus and adversely affect its mental wellbeing in later life. In a recent study by our group, prenatal stress was associated with a clear increase in anxiety- and depression-related behavior in male, but not female Sprague-Dawley offspring. Since birth weight data were recorded we were able to determine whether birth weight, as an important outcome measure of fetal distress, may be used as a predictive indicator for adult performance. For this purpose, a correlation analysis was performed, aimed at studying the possible link between stress-induced fetal growth restriction and adult affective state. Male birth weight correlated positively to depression-related behavior in the forced swim test. Furthermore, it weight was correlated negatively to basal, and positively to stress-induced, plasma corticosterone levels in adulthood. Female birth weight did not correlate to any of the studied outcome measures. These data suggest that male birth weight may represent a valuable indicative marker for variations in adult affective state with a developmental origin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, European Graduate School of Neuroscience, Universiteitssingel 50, PO box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands. d.vandenhove@np.unimaas.nl
authors.forename: Daniel L A
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: van den Hove
authors.forename: Gunter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kenis
authors.forename: Harry W M
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Steinbusch
authors.forename: Carlos E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.forename: Jos
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Prickaerts
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D001724:Birth Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005316:Fetal Distress / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012737:Sex Factors; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D003345:Corticosterone