Maternal stress can lead to preterm birth and accelerate the biological aging of children

Why do some people age faster than others? One potential answer from the new UCLA-led study is that prenatal maternal stress can accelerate the biological aging of children.

Researchers have found evidence that mother’s stress adversely affects the length of telomeres in babies. This is a piece of DNA at the end of a chromosome that acts as a protective cap, like the tip of a plastic shoelace. Shortening telomeres is associated with an increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, other illnesses, and premature death.

Findings will be reported in the journal this month Psychiatry and neuroendocrinology..

Research on aging has begun to identify several factors that may put a person in the accelerated aging pathway, which can lead to aging diseases such as metabolic disorders and cardiovascular disease much earlier than expected. There is. What our research tells us is that there may be early environmental and maternal factors that influence where a person begins in life.

Judith Carroll, lead author of research, associate professor Psychiatry Biobehavioral Science at the Cousins ​​Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, part of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University of California, Los Angeles

Some studies have reported shorter telomere lengths in newborns whose mothers reported high stress in either the first or third trimester of pregnancy, but new studies show that mothers before pregnancy Stress was tracked and tracked in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. Researchers have identified a particularly important time in the third semester when children are at high risk of telomere shortening, but not earlier.

Overall, this study tracked 111 mothers and their children from prejudice to early childhood. The woman was from seven counties in North Carolina, one from Illinois and Washington, DC. Between the ages of 3 and 5, children provided cell samples from the inside of the cheek, from which researchers extracted DNA containing telomeres. The team was then able to compare the length of childhood telomeres with stress measurements taken while the children were in the womb.

“This allows us to determine the contribution of stress to the telomere length of the child at each of these points in time,” Carroll said. “Past studies have examined the length of telomeres in newborns, but our findings are years after the child is 3-5 years old. A child exposed to maternal stress in utero. So there is evidence that telomeres continue to be shorter in length. This finding is very noteworthy. “

How does maternal stress change cell aging?

“We are making a hypothesis,” Carroll said. “We know that stress can activate inflammation and metabolic activity, both of which can contribute to DNA damage in large quantities. Telomeres are vulnerable to damage and before cell division. If not repaired, this damage can be shortened. Telomere development is known to result in rapid cell replication, during which time it is thought to be more vulnerable to damage. “

High mother stress often leads to preterm birth

In a second UCLA-led study by the same research group, women suffering from high stress during the months and even years before pregnancy (defined as overwhelmed and unmanageable) were found by others. I found that my pregnancy was shorter than that of women. Women who experienced the highest levels of stress gave birth to babies who spent more than a week in utero.

“Every day in utero is important for fetal growth and development,” said Christine Dunkel Schetter, a prominent professor of psychology and psychiatry and a senior author of both studies. “Premature babies are at increased risk of adverse consequences, such as developmental disabilities and physical health problems, than infants born at birth and later in life.”

Dunkel Schetter, who leads the stress process at the Institute of Pregnancy, who conducted the study, found that low-income African-American women have unusually high preterm birth rates in the United States compared to other countries with similar resources. He said he was showing a high rate. Premature birth. “Preterm birth, which adversely affects mothers and children around the world and in the United States, is a top priority,” she said.

These results, published in the Journals of Behavioral Medicine, are primarily based on extensive domestic interviews with 360 mothers in low-income and racially diverse regions, many near poverty levels. I live in or less. In addition to collecting data on the general stress levels of these women, interviewers have a variety of financial concerns, unemployment, food shortages, chronic relationship problems, childcare challenges, interpersonal violence, discrimination and more. I got information about various types of environmental stress.

Researchers have found that women with the lowest or highest stress in the environment have the shortest gestation period, and women with moderate levels of environmental stress before pregnancy have the longest gestation period.

“Women exposed to moderate stressors in the environment may have developed coping strategies that are well-helped both before and during pregnancy, but usually even women who coping very effectively. It is difficult to be exposed to more serious stress. ”As a doctoral student in health psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, he is currently an assistant professor of psychology at La Verne University. She is also a co-author of other studies.

Moderate stress in the womb can help prepare for the environment in which the developing foetation comes, especially if the mother is developing effective coping strategies, Mahler said.

“What we didn’t know so far is whether the psychosocial health of the mother before pregnancy is important for the outcome of her childbirth. Yes, this study first shows that it is important. This is one of the things I pointed out.

“Some of the things that trigger before pregnancy can be difficult to stop during pregnancy, so it may be even more influential than prenatal health,” she added. “For example, mothers whose immune system is dysregulated due to stress can be at risk when they become pregnant. Abundant stress for low-income parents is powerful and latent for them and their children. It is a high risk. “

According to Dunkel Schetter, these findings support the case of spending more resources on prejudiced health and well-being programs.

Both studies were funded by the Eunice Kennedy Schreiber National Institute of Child Health Development, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Institute of Nursing.

Scientists say their research only scratched the surface of the effects of maternal prejudice and fetal environment on the biological factors that affect a child’s health.

“The key point from this study is that the health and well-being of mothers before birth and before pregnancy is very important to the health of their babies,” Carroll said. “If our society can make the difference to provide pregnant women with the resources they need and to provide a safe and supportive environment before and during pregnancy, we will be of great health to our children. It can affect you. “