title: Elevated cortisol in healthy female adolescent offspring of mothers with posttraumatic stress disorder.
abstract: Offspring with maternal PTSD are at increased risk of developing PTSD themselves. Alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may play a role and have been noted in offspring, although evidence is mostly from adult offspring with PTSD symptoms themselves. The present study of adolescent girls (N=472) and their mothers (n=18 with lifetime PTSD versus n=454 with no PTSD) sought to determine whether healthy, non-affected offspring of mothers with PTSD would exhibit altered HPA axis function. Saliva samples were collected from the adolescent girls at waking, 30min after waking, and 8 pm on 3 consecutive days. Offspring whose mothers were diagnosed with PTSD demonstrated higher cortisol awakening response (CAR; Cohen's d=0.58) and greater total cortisol output (Cohen's d=0.62). In this preliminary study, higher cortisol levels during adolescence among offspring of mothers with PTSD may index a vulnerability in these at-risk youth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, United States. Electronic address: KekeLiu@my.unt.edu.
authors.forename: Keke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, United States.
authors.forename: Camilo J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Ruggero
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, United States.
authors.forename: Brandon
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, United States.
authors.forename: Daniel N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, United States.
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Perlman
authors.affiliation: Center for Self-Report Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States.
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Broderick
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, United States.
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kotov
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis*; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009035:Mothers; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Adolescents; Cortisol; HPA axis; Maternal PTSD; Mother-daughter dyads; Posttraumatic stress disorder