Mother's stress hormones shape children's IQ

summary: Elevated cortisol levels during the third trimester of pregnancy are associated with lower IQ scores in 7-year-old boys, but not in girls. In contrast, increased urinary cortisone levels during pregnancy were associated with improved IQ scores in girls.

This study highlights the differential effects of prenatal cortisol exposure on boys and girls and highlights gender-specific developmental pathways. This study, utilizing data from the Odense pediatric cohort, highlights the complex role of cortisol and cortisone in cognitive development.

Important facts:

1. Elevated prenatal cortisol levels are associated with lower IQ in 7-year-old boys, but not in girls.
2. High urinary cortisone levels during pregnancy improve girls' IQ scores.
3. This study demonstrates that the enzyme 11β-HSD2, which converts cortisol to cortisone, has a protective effect on girls.

sauce: European Endocrine Society

Increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol during late pregnancy can lower intelligence quotient (IQ) scores in seven-year-old boys, according to research presented at the 26th European Endocrinology Congress in Stockholm. There is.

Surprisingly, blood cortisol levels were not associated with girls' IQ scores, but higher urinary cortisone levels improved scores.

The findings highlight the important role cortisol plays independently in the development of male and female fetuses.

Prenatal exposure to cortisol (a steroid hormone that helps the body respond to stress) is necessary for fetal development and is thought to influence the child's cognitive function later in life.

Cortisol levels increase during pregnancy, and pregnant women carrying girls generally secrete more cortisol than those carrying boys.

However, in the placenta, the enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11β-HSD2) regulates the amount of cortisol that reaches the fetus by converting it to an inactive form known as cortisone.

Researchers at Odense University Hospital in Denmark have previously shown that higher cortisol levels in mothers late in pregnancy are associated with more advanced language skills in children between the ages of one and three.

In the current study, researchers analyzed cortisol and cortisone levels in 943 pregnant women during their third trimester, as well as data from IQ tests in 943 7-year-old children from the Odense Children's Cohort.

They found that pregnant women who were pregnant with boys had lower levels of cortisol in their blood than women who were pregnant with girls.

Additionally, boys who were exposed to higher levels of cortisol in the womb had lower scores on IQ tests at age 7.

Even among girls of the same age, the higher the mother's urinary cortisone levels, the higher the IQ test scores.

“To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the association between urinary cortisone levels during pregnancy and children's IQ scores,” said lead author Dr. Anja Fenger-Dreyer.

“Other studies have only looked at cortisol circulating in the blood during pregnancy and children's IQ, but we looked at urine samples as well as blood samples, and looked at boys and girls separately. It is the first time.”

Dr. Fenger-Dreyer continued, “Our results suggest that girls may be more protected by placental 11β-HSD2 activity, whereas boys may be more protected against prenatal exposure to maternal physiological cortisol. “It shows that they may be more vulnerable,” he added.

“While our previous study showed that prenatal cortisol exposure was positively correlated with language development, in this study we found that prenatal cortisol exposure was directly correlated with serum cortisol and urinary cortisone. “Indirectly,” continued Dr. Fenger-Dreyer, it is negatively correlated with IQ scores.

“This may mean that prenatal exposure to high levels of cortisol may have a temporary effect on children's cognitive development. Also, our previous study showed that exposure to high levels of cortisol in young children It should also be noted that although vocabulary was reported by parents, children's IQ was assessed by trained psychologists in this study.

About this IQ and cortisol research news

author: imogen smith
sauce: europe associationendocrinology
Contact: Imogen Smith – European Society of Endocrinology
image: Image credited to Neuroscience News

Original research: The results of this study will be presented at the 26th European Endocrine Congress.