title: Telomere Length in Newborns is Related to Maternal Stress During Pregnancy.
abstract: Telomere length (TL) is a marker of biological aging, and numerous studies have shown associations between TL and somatic or psychiatric disorders. Research also indicates an association between maternal stress during pregnancy and TL in the offspring. The present study investigated possible associations between TL and: (1) maternal perceived stress during pregnancy; (2) a maternal lifetime history of psychiatric disorder (lifetime PD); and (3) paternal age. TL was analyzed in 319 newborns and 318 mothers from a predominantly Caucasian sample (n=273 Caucasian newborns and n=274 Caucasian mothers). Two key findings were observed. First, maternal perceived stress during pregnancy was associated with shorter telomeres in newborns but not with maternal TL. Second, maternal lifetime PD was associated with shorter maternal telomeres, but not with TL in newborns. Paternal age was not associated with TL in newborns. The finding that maternal stress during pregnancy is associated with shorter telomeres in newborns supports the results of smaller previous studies. The fact that a relation between maternal prenatal stress and TL was observed in the offspring but not in mothers may be attributable to a high vulnerability to stress during intrauterine development of a maturing organism. To our knowledge, this is the largest study to date to show that maternal stress during pregnancy but not maternal lifetime PD is associated with shorter telomeres in the offspring.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Tabea Sarah
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Send
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gilles
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Veryan
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Codd
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Isabell
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Svenja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bardtke
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1080-4339
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Streit
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4364-1487
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Strohmaier
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Josef
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4867-9465
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Darja
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schendel
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Mark W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Sütterlin
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Denniff
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.|Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laucht
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Nilesh J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Samani
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deuschle
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Marcella
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5236-6149
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rietschel
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Stephanie H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Witt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D057566:Self Report; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D016615:Telomere / Q000502:physiology; D059506:Telomere Shortening / Q000502:physiology*