title: Maternal stress and psychological distress preconception: association with offspring atopic eczema at age 12 months.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Perinatal maternal stress and low mood have been linked to offspring atopic eczema.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the relation of maternal stress/mood with atopic eczema in the offspring, focusing particularly on stress/psychological distress preconception.
  
  
  METHODS
  At recruitment in the UK Southampton Women's Survey, preconception maternal reports of perceived stress in daily living and the effect of stress on health were recorded; in a subsample, psychological distress was assessed (12-item General Health Questionnaire). Infants were followed up at ages 6 (n = 2956) and 12 (n = 2872) months and atopic eczema ascertained (based on UK Working Party Criteria for the Definition of Atopic Dermatitis). At 6 months post-partum, mothers were asked if they had experienced symptoms of low mood since childbirth and completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Preconception perceived stress affecting health [OR 1.21 (95% CI 1.08-1.35), P = 0.001] and stress in daily living [OR 1.16 (1.03-1.30), P = 0.014] were associated with an increased risk of offspring atopic eczema at age 12 months but not at 6 months, robust to adjustment for potentially confounding variables. Findings were similar for maternal psychological distress preconception. Low maternal mood between delivery and 6 months post-partum was associated with an increased risk of infantile atopic eczema at age 12 months, but no significant association between post-natal mood and atopic eczema was seen after taking account of preconception stress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data provide novel evidence linking maternal stress at preconception to atopic eczema risk, supporting a developmental contribution to the aetiology of atopic eczema and pointing to potentially modifiable influences.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4277-7187
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: El-Heis
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Crozier
authors.affiliation: Dermatopharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Healy
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.|NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.|NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.|NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.|NIHR Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.|NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Inskip
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.|NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baird
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.|NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.|Institute of Developmental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Godfrey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: atopic eczema; maternal mood; maternal stress