Impact of Perinatal Depression on Offspring HPA Axis Functioning

Perinatal depression is associated with HPA axis alterations not just in the mother, but also in the offspring. Factors influencing this relationship are important to understand, in order to break the intergenerational transmission of psychopathology from mother to child. Presented here are preliminary data from two perinatal cohorts, (i) the Psychiatry Research and Motherhood-Depression (PRAM-D) cohort, following offspring of antenatally depressed women to middle childhood, and (ii) the Scaling-Up Health Arts Programmes: Implementation and Effectiveness Research (SHAPER) cohort, an online singing intervention for postnatal depression. Using salivary cortisol samples, we investigate whether (i) alterations in offspring HPA axis reactivity in infancy extend to childhood and (ii) maternal and infant cortisol levels are associated in response to singing. In the PRAM-D cohort, children of antenatally depressed mothers showed a trend towards higher total cortisol output during the cold pressor task compared with controls ([nmol/mL] 128.9(48.8) vs. 101.7(45.3); t(39)=-1.8, p=0.076). There were no case-control differences in child self-reported mental health (p>0.05), however total child cortisol output was positively correlated with child trait anxiety (rs=0.34, p=0.030). Results from the SHAPER cohort are in preparation. In the PRAM-D cohort, antenatal depression was not significantly associated with child cortisol output, but instead, child concurrent trait anxiety was. A more in-depth understanding of the impacts of perinatal depression on offspring HPA axis functioning and mental health is crucial, as it will allow us to develop interventions which break the cycle of intergenerational transmission of psychopathology.