title: The association of maternal prenatal psychosocial stress with vascular function in the child at age 10-11 years: findings from the Avon longitudinal study of parents and children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether (1) maternal psychosocial stress (depression/anxiety) during pregnancy is associated with offspring vascular function and (2) whether any association differs depending on the gestational timing of exposure to stress. We also investigated whether any association is likely to be due to intrauterine mechanisms by (3) comparing with the association of paternal stress with offspring vascular function and (4) examining whether any prenatal association is explained by maternal postnatal stress.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Associations were examined in a UK birth cohort, with offspring outcomes (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, SBP and DBP, endothelial function assessed by brachial artery flow-mediated dilatation (FMD); arterial stiffness assessed by carotid to radial pulse wave velocity (PWV), brachial artery distensibility (DC), and brachial artery diameter (BD) assessed at age 10-11 years (n = 4,318). Maternal depressive symptoms and anxiety were assessed at 18 and 32 weeks gestation and 8 months postnatally. Paternal symptoms were assessed at week 19. With the exception of DBP and BD, there were no associations of maternal depressive symptoms with any of the vascular outcomes. Maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms were associated with lower offspring DBP and wider BD, though the latter attenuated to the null with adjustment for confounding factors. Paternal symptoms were not associated with offspring outcomes. Maternal postnatal depressive symptoms were associated with lower offspring SBP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found no evidence to support the hypothesis that maternal stress during pregnancy adversely affects offspring vascular function at age 10-12 years via intrauterine mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Public Health Service of Amsterdam (GGD), Amsterdam, The Netherlands a.e.vandijk@amc.uva.nl.
authors.forename: Aimée E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: van Dijk
authors.affiliation: University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dawe
authors.affiliation: University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deanfield
authors.affiliation: VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Karien
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stronks
authors.affiliation: University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Reinoud J B J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Gemke
authors.affiliation: University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Tanja G M
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Vrijkotte
authors.affiliation: University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Debbie A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Lawlor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013997:Time Factors; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Arterial stiffness; blood pressure; child; developmental origins of health and disease; fetal development; pregnancy; psychological; stress
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