Alterations of hair cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone in mother-infant-dyads with maternal childhood maltreatment

M Umlauft,A Karabatsiakis,J M Fegert,U Ziegenhain,F Reister,S Krause,I.-T Kolassa,A L Hulbert,H Guendel,S Kolassa,K Schury,A M Koenig,D Isele

doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1367-2

Abstract

BackgroundChild maltreatment (CM) has severe effects on psychological and physical health. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the major stress system of the body, is dysregulated after CM. The analysis of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in scalp hair presents a new and promising methodological approach to assess chronic HPA axis activity. This study investigated the effects of CM on HPA axis activity in the last trimester of pregnancy by measuring the two important signaling molecules, cortisol and DHEA in hair, shortly after parturition. In addition, we explored potential effects of maternal CM on her offspring’s endocrine milieu during pregnancy by measuring cortisol and DHEA in newborns’ hair.MethodsCM was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Cortisol and DHEA were measured in hair samples of 94 mothers and 30 newborns, collected within six days after delivery. Associations of maternal CM on her own and her newborn’s cortisol as well as DHEA concentrations in hair were analyzed with heteroscedastic regression models.ResultsHigher CM was associated with significantly higher DHEA levels, but not cortisol concentrations in maternal hair. Moreover, maternal CM was positively, but only as a non-significant trend, associated with higher DHEA levels in the newborns’ hair.ConclusionsResults suggest that the steroid milieu of the mother, at least on the level of DHEA, is altered after CM, possibly leading to non-genomic transgenerational effects on the developing fetus in utero. Indeed, we observed on an explorative level first hints that the endocrine milieu for the developing child might be altered in CM mothers. These results need extension and replication in future studies. The measurement of hair steroids in mothers and their newborns is promising, but more research is needed to better understand the effects of a maternal history of CM on the developing fetus.

Highlights

Child maltreatment (CM) has severe effects on psychological and physical health
Functional HPA axis activity is essential for the regulation of metabolic processes in order to maintain physiological homeostasis, but its functioning can be dysregulated upon chronic stress such as CM, in particular when it occurs during sensitive developmental periods
A stress-induced activation of the HPA axis leads to the release of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) from the hypothalamus, which causes the secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and in turn results in the secretion of glucocorticoids from the adrenal cortex

Summary

Introduction

Child maltreatment (CM) has severe effects on psychological and physical health. The hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the major stress system of the body, is dysregulated after CM. One possible underlying mechanism between CM and later physical health problems may be the dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the body’s major stress system. There is growing interest in the investigation of both cortisol and DHEA, as their interplay impacts many physiological systems via genomic and non-genomic mechanisms, but they seem to have opposing biological, neurological and immune-related functions (for a review see [4]). Taking both hormones into account may be a more sensitive index for the regulation of HPA axis activity [4]

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