Dataset Information

Maternal depression during pregnancy and cord blood DNA methylation: findings from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

ABSTRACT: Up to 13% of women may experience symptoms of depression during pregnancy or in the postpartum period. Depression during pregnancy has been associated with an increased risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in the child and epigenetic mechanisms could be one of the biological pathways to explain this association. In 844 mother-child pairs from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, we carried out an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) to investigate associations between prospectively collected data on maternal depression ascertained by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in pregnancy and DNA methylation in the cord blood of newborn offspring. In individual site analysis, we identified two CpG sites associated with maternal depression in the middle part of pregnancy. In our regional analysis, we identified 39 differentially methylated regions (DMRs). Seven DMRs were associated with depression at any time point during pregnancy, 7 associated with depression in mid-pregnancy, 23 were associated with depression in late pregnancy, and 2 DMRs were associated with depression throughout pregnancy. Several of these map to genes associated with psychiatric disease and brain development. We attempted replication in The Generation R Study and could not replicate our results. Although our findings in ALSPAC suggest that maternal depression could be associated with cord blood DNA methylation the results should be viewed as preliminary and hypothesis generating until further replicated in a larger sample.

SUBMITTER: Viuff AC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6221892 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Maternal depression during pregnancy and cord blood DNA methylation: findings from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

Viuff A C AC Sharp G C GC Rai D D Henriksen T B TB Pedersen L H LH Kyng K J KJ Staunstrup N H NH Cortes A A Neumann A A Felix J F JF Tiemeier H H Jaddoe V W V VWV Relton C L CL

Translational psychiatry 20181107 1

Up to 13% of women may experience symptoms of depression during pregnancy or in the postpartum period. Depression during pregnancy has been associated with an increased risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in the child and epigenetic mechanisms could be one of the biological pathways to explain this association. In 844 mother-child pairs from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, we carried out an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) to investigate associations between p ...[more]

PMID: 30405117

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Project description:BackgroundMaternal depression is a major determinant of offspring mental health. Yet, little is understood about how the duration and timing of maternal depression shapes youth risk for depressive symptoms, which if understood could inform when best to intervene. This study aimed to determine how the timing and duration of maternal depression was related to offspring depression in emerging adulthood, and if these associations varied by sex.MethodsWe analysed data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (a prenatal cohort in the Avon area of England, 1991-2003), n = 3,301. We applied the structured lifecourse modelling approach to maternal depression (assessed at 13 points from prenatal period to adolescence) and emerging adult depressive symptoms (age 21). Lifecourse models assessed were accumulation (sum of timepoints when maternal depression was reported), sensitive periods (each period assessed as one during which maternal depression has a stronger effect) and instability (frequent fluctuations in maternal depression).ResultsFemale adolescents (n = 2,132) had higher SMFQ scores (mean = 6.15, SD = 5.90) than males (n = 1,169, mean = 4.87, SD = 4.82). Maternal depression was most common in the infancy period (21.2% males; 21.4% females). For males, accumulation was the most appropriate lifecourse model; for each additional period of maternal depression, depressive symptoms in emerging adulthood increased by 0.11 (95% CI: 0.07, 0.15, one-sided p value ≤ .001). For females, exposure to maternal depression was associated with increasing depressive symptoms in emerging adulthood, with the largest effect in mid-childhood (increase of 0.27 units, 95% CI 0.03-0.50, p = .015 for difference between mid-childhood and other time-periods) and a smaller, equal effect at all other time-periods (increase of 0.07 units per time-period, 95% CI: 0.03-0.12, p = .002).ConclusionsThis study highlights the importance of ongoing maternal depression for the development of depression in offspring through to emerging adulthood. Because long-term exposure to maternal depression was particularly important, early interventions are warranted.

Dataset Information

Maternal depression during pregnancy and cord blood DNA methylation: findings from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

Publications

Maternal depression during pregnancy and cord blood DNA methylation: findings from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

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