title: Effects of stress and depression on inflammatory immune parameters in pregnancy.
abstract: There is a substantial body of literature that links psychological stress to adverse pregnancy outcomes, particularly preterm birth. Comparatively few studies have examined potential biologic mechanisms that explain these associations. Attention to inflammatory processes is warranted. This article describes emerging studies that demonstrate that, as in nonpregnant humans and animals, psychological stress and distress (ie, depressive symptoms) predict dysregulation of inflammatory processes in human pregnancy. This includes elevations in circulating inflammatory cytokines, exaggerated inflammatory responses to in vivo biologic challenges, and more robust inflammatory responses to psychological challenges. Continued research in this area is needed to determine the implications of such stress-induced immune dysregulation for birth outcomes and for maternal health and fetal development.
authors: Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH. Electronic address: Lisa.Christian@osumc.edu.
authors: Lisa M
authors: LM
authors: Christian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003863:Depression / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D011247:Pregnancy; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000276:immunology*; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6
keywords: depressive symptom; inflammatory; proinflammatory cytokine; psychological stress