Dataset Information

Hidden pandemic: COVID-19-related stress, SLC6A4 methylation, and infants' temperament at 3 months.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic represents a collective trauma that may have enduring stress effects during sensitive periods, such as pregnancy. Prenatal stress may result in epigenetic signatures of stress-related genes (e.g., the serotonin transporter gene, SLC6A4) that may in turn influence infants' behavioral development. In April 2020, we launched a longitudinal cohort study to assess the behavioral and epigenetic vestiges of COVID-19-related prenatal stress exposure in mothers and infants. COVID-19-related prenatal stress was retrospectively assessed at birth. SLC6A4 methylation was assessed in thirteen CpG sites in mothers and infants' buccal cells. Infants' temperament was assessed at 3-month-age. Complete data were available from 108 mother-infant dyads. Greater COVID-19-related prenatal stress was significantly associated with higher infants' SLC6A4 methylation in seven CpG sites. SLC6A4 methylation at these sites predicted infants' temperament at 3 months.

SUBMITTER: Provenzi L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8329206 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Studies have shown that infant temperament varies with maternal psychosocial factors, in utero illness, and environmental stressors. We predicted that the pandemic would shape infant temperament through maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy and/or maternal postnatal stress. To test this, we examined associations among infant temperament, maternal prenatal SARS-CoV-2 infection, maternal postnatal stress, and postnatal COVID-related life disruptions. We tested 63 mother-infant dyads with prenatal maternal SARS-CoV-2 infections and a comparable group of 110 dyads without infections. To assess postnatal maternal stress, mothers completed the Perceived Stress Scale 4 months postpartum and an evaluation of COVID-related stress and life disruptions 6 months postpartum. Mothers reported on infant temperament when infants were 6-months-old using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R) Very Short Form. Maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy was not associated with infant temperament or maternal postnatal stress. Mothers with higher self-reported postnatal stress rated their infants lower on the Positive Affectivity/Surgency and Orienting/Regulation IBQ-R subscales. Mothers who reported greater COVID-related life disruptions rated their infants higher on the Negative Emotionality IBQ-R subscale. Despite no effect of prenatal maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection, stress and life disruptions incurred by the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with infant temperament at 6-months. SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy is not associated with postnatal ratings of COVID-related life disruptions, maternal stress, or infant temperament. Postnatal ratings of maternal stress during the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with normative variation in maternal report of infant temperament at 6 months of age. Higher postnatal ratings of maternal stress are associated with lower scores on infant Positive Affectivity/Surgency and Orienting/Regulation at 6 months of age. Higher postnatal ratings of COVID-related life disruptions are associated with higher scores on infant Negative Emotionality at 6 months of age.

Project description:BackgroundRecreational equipment sales rose significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated changes in the incidence of pediatric emergency department (PED) visits related to outdoor recreational activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted at a large children's hospital with a level 1 trauma center. Data were obtained from PED electronic medical records of children 5-14 years with a visit from March 23-September 1 in years 2015-2020. Patients with an ICD-10 code for injury associated with recreation and use of common outdoor recreational equipment were included. Initial pandemic year, 2020, was compared with pre-pandemic years (2015-2019). Data collected included patient demographics, injury characteristics, deprivation index, and disposition. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the population and Chi-squared analysis was used determine relationships between groups.ResultsThere were 29,044 total injury visits during the study months with 4715 visits (16.2%) due to recreational mechanisms. A higher proportion of visits due to recreational injury visits occurred during the COVID pandemic (8.2%) compared to before (4.9%). Comparing patients included within the two times, were no differences in sex, ethnicity, or ED disposition. During the COVID pandemic, there was a higher percentage of White patients (80% vs 76%) and patients with commercial insurance (64% vs 55%). There was a significantly lower deprivation index for patients injured during the COVID pandemic. There were more injuries due to bicycles, ATV/motorbike, and non-motorized wheeled vehicles during the COVID pandemic.ConclusionsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increase in bicycle, ATV/motorbike, and non-motorized wheeled vehicle injuries. White patients with commercial insurance were more likely to be injured compared to years prior. A targeted approach to injury prevention initiatives should be considered.

Project description:BackgroundFamily violence (including intimate partner violence/domestic violence, child abuse, and elder abuse) is a hidden pandemic happening alongside COVID-19. The rates of family violence are rising fast, and women and children are disproportionately affected and vulnerable during this time.ObjectiveThis study aims to provide a large-scale analysis of public discourse on family violence and the COVID-19 pandemic on Twitter.MethodsWe analyzed over 1 million tweets related to family violence and COVID-19 from April 12 to July 16, 2020. We used the machine learning approach Latent Dirichlet Allocation and identified salient themes, topics, and representative tweets.ResultsWe extracted 9 themes from 1,015,874 tweets on family violence and the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) increased vulnerability: COVID-19 and family violence (eg, rising rates, increases in hotline calls, homicide); (2) types of family violence (eg, child abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuse); (3) forms of family violence (eg, physical aggression, coercive control); (4) risk factors linked to family violence (eg, alcohol abuse, financial constraints, guns, quarantine); (5) victims of family violence (eg, the LGBTQ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning] community, women, women of color, children); (6) social services for family violence (eg, hotlines, social workers, confidential services, shelters, funding); (7) law enforcement response (eg, 911 calls, police arrest, protective orders, abuse reports); (8) social movements and awareness (eg, support victims, raise awareness); and (9) domestic violence-related news (eg, Tara Reade, Melissa DeRosa).ConclusionsThis study overcomes limitations in the existing scholarship where data on the consequences of COVID-19 on family violence are lacking. We contribute to understanding family violence during the pandemic by providing surveillance via tweets. This is essential for identifying potentially useful policy programs that can offer targeted support for victims and survivors as we prepare for future outbreaks.

Dataset Information

Hidden pandemic: COVID-19-related stress, SLC6A4 methylation, and infants' temperament at 3 months.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets