Exposure to maternal depressive symptoms in fetal life or childhood and offspring brain development: A population-based imaging study

TY - JOUR

T1 - Exposure to maternal depressive symptoms in fetal life or childhood and offspring brain development

T2 - A population-based imaging study

AU - Zou, Runyu

AU - Tiemeier, Henning

AU - Van Der Ende, Jan

AU - Verhulst, Frank C.

AU - Muetzel, Ryan L.

AU - White, Tonya

AU - Hillegers, Manon

AU - El Marroun, Hanan

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - Objective: The authors examined associations of exposure to maternal depressive symptoms at different developmental stages from fetal life to preadolescence with child brain development, including volumetrics and white matter microstructure. Methods: This study was embedded in a longitudinal birth cohort in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Participants were 3,469 mother-child pairs with data on maternal depressive symptoms and child neuroimaging at age 10. The authors also measured child emotional and behavioral problems at the time of neuroimaging. The association of maternal depressive symptoms with child brain development at each assessment was examined. Maternal depressive symptom trajectories were modeled across fetal life and childhood to determine the association of maternal depressive symptom patterns over time with child brain development. Results: The single-time-point analyses showed that maternal depressive symptoms at child age 2 months were associated with smaller total gray matter volume and lower global fractional anisotropy (FA), whereas maternal depressive symptoms assessed prenatally or in childhood were not. The trajectory analyses suggested in particular that children exposed to persistently high levels of maternal depressive symptoms across the perinatal period had smaller gray and white matter volumes as well as alterations (i.e., lower FA) in white matter microstructure compared with nonexposed children. Furthermore, the gray matter volume differences mediated the association between postnatal maternal depressive symptoms and child attention problems. Conclusions: Perinatal maternal depressive symptoms were consistently associated with child brain development assessed 10 years later. These results suggest that the postnatal period is a window of vulnerability for adversities such as maternal depressive symptoms.

AB - Objective: The authors examined associations of exposure to maternal depressive symptoms at different developmental stages from fetal life to preadolescence with child brain development, including volumetrics and white matter microstructure. Methods: This study was embedded in a longitudinal birth cohort in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Participants were 3,469 mother-child pairs with data on maternal depressive symptoms and child neuroimaging at age 10. The authors also measured child emotional and behavioral problems at the time of neuroimaging. The association of maternal depressive symptoms with child brain development at each assessment was examined. Maternal depressive symptom trajectories were modeled across fetal life and childhood to determine the association of maternal depressive symptom patterns over time with child brain development. Results: The single-time-point analyses showed that maternal depressive symptoms at child age 2 months were associated with smaller total gray matter volume and lower global fractional anisotropy (FA), whereas maternal depressive symptoms assessed prenatally or in childhood were not. The trajectory analyses suggested in particular that children exposed to persistently high levels of maternal depressive symptoms across the perinatal period had smaller gray and white matter volumes as well as alterations (i.e., lower FA) in white matter microstructure compared with nonexposed children. Furthermore, the gray matter volume differences mediated the association between postnatal maternal depressive symptoms and child attention problems. Conclusions: Perinatal maternal depressive symptoms were consistently associated with child brain development assessed 10 years later. These results suggest that the postnatal period is a window of vulnerability for adversities such as maternal depressive symptoms.

U2 - 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.18080970

DO - 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.18080970

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 31055967

AN - SCOPUS:85071783436

SN - 0002-953X

VL - 176

SP - 702

EP - 710

JO - The American Journal of Psychiatry

JF - The American Journal of Psychiatry

IS - 9

ER -