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Alterations of hair cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone in mother-infant-dyads with maternal childhood maltreatment

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Psychiatry, June 2017
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Title
Alterations of hair cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone in mother-infant-dyads with maternal childhood maltreatment
Published in
BMC Psychiatry, June 2017
DOI 10.1186/s12888-017-1367-2
Pubmed ID
Authors

K. Schury, A. M. Koenig, D. Isele, A. L. Hulbert, S. Krause, M. Umlauft, S. Kolassa, U. Ziegenhain, A. Karabatsiakis, F. Reister, H. Guendel, J. M. Fegert, I.-T. Kolassa

Abstract

Child maltreatment (CM) has severe effects on psychological and physical health. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the major stress system of the body, is dysregulated after CM. The analysis of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in scalp hair presents a new and promising methodological approach to assess chronic HPA axis activity. This study investigated the effects of CM on HPA axis activity in the last trimester of pregnancy by measuring the two important signaling molecules, cortisol and DHEA in hair, shortly after parturition. In addition, we explored potential effects of maternal CM on her offspring's endocrine milieu during pregnancy by measuring cortisol and DHEA in newborns' hair. CM was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Cortisol and DHEA were measured in hair samples of 94 mothers and 30 newborns, collected within six days after delivery. Associations of maternal CM on her own and her newborn's cortisol as well as DHEA concentrations in hair were analyzed with heteroscedastic regression models. Higher CM was associated with significantly higher DHEA levels, but not cortisol concentrations in maternal hair. Moreover, maternal CM was positively, but only as a non-significant trend, associated with higher DHEA levels in the newborns' hair. Results suggest that the steroid milieu of the mother, at least on the level of DHEA, is altered after CM, possibly leading to non-genomic transgenerational effects on the developing fetus in utero. Indeed, we observed on an explorative level first hints that the endocrine milieu for the developing child might be altered in CM mothers. These results need extension and replication in future studies. The measurement of hair steroids in mothers and their newborns is promising, but more research is needed to better understand the effects of a maternal history of CM on the developing fetus.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 150 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 150 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Bachelor 25 17%
Student > Ph. D. Student 23 15%
Researcher 18 12%
Student > Doctoral Student 18 12%
Student > Master 11 7%
Other 20 13%
Unknown 35 23%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Psychology 53 35%
Medicine and Dentistry 16 11%
Nursing and Health Professions 8 5%
Neuroscience 6 4%
Social Sciences 6 4%
Other 17 11%
Unknown 44 29%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 14 June 2017.
All research outputs
#15,464,404
of 22,979,862 outputs
Outputs from BMC Psychiatry
#3,426
of 4,734 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#199,213
of 317,259 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Psychiatry
#79
of 121 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,979,862 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 22nd percentile – i.e., 22% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 4,734 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 11.9. This one is in the 21st percentile – i.e., 21% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 317,259 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 28th percentile – i.e., 28% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 121 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 31st percentile – i.e., 31% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.