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Early Adversity, Symptoms of Depression and Breastfeeding
- W. Jonas, A. Fleming, M. Steiner, M.J. Meaney, L. Atkinson, V. Mileva, M. Sokolowski, J. Kennedy
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- Journal:
- European Psychiatry / Volume 41 / Issue S1 / April 2017
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 23 March 2020, p. S30
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- Article
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Backround
There is considerable variation in the prevalence of breastfeeding, which allows for investigation of factors that influence the initiation and duration of breastfeeding and its association with well being of the mother infant dyad.
AimsTo better understand factors that influence (1) maternal breastfeeding status and (2) the “effects” of breastfeeding on mothers and infants.
MethodsParticipants (n = 170) derive from a longitudinal Canadian study “Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment (MAVAN)”, a project designed to understand the pre- and postnatal influences on maternal health and child social-emotional development. Mothers provided data on breastfeeding status, early life adversity, oxytocin gene and oxytocin gene receptor polymorphisms, depression/anxiety, infant temperament and maternal sensitivity.
ResultsEarly life adversity associated with a shorter breastfeeding duration and higher maternal depression levels. The relation between mothers’ early adversity and the duration of breastfeeding was mediated by mothers’ depression level, but only in women carrying one variant of the oxytocin rs2740210 gene marker (CC genotype). Mothers who breastfeed at 3 months acted more sensitively towards their infants when they were 6 months old and they in turn had infants who at 18 months showed reduced negative affectivity.
ConclusionWomen who have been exposed to early adversity are “living with the past” and they are, to certain extent, protected or more vulnerable to depression, depending on their genotype. Breastfeeding associated with higher maternal sensitivity, which associated with decreased negative emotionality in the infant at 18 months. Our results help to clarify associations between early life experiences, breastfeeding, and the mother-infant relationship.
Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
Intergenerational Transmission of Well Being–Genetic and Epigenetic Mechanisms
- E. Unternaehrer, K. Greenlaw, S. Hari Dass, L.M. Chen, A.A. Bouvette-Turcot, K. Cost, K.J. O’Donnell, H. Gaudreau, L. McEwen, J. MacIsaac, M.S. Kobor, A.S. Fleming, L. Atkinson, J.E. Lydon, M. Steiner, A. Ciampi, C.M.T. Greenwood, M.J. Meaney
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- Journal:
- European Psychiatry / Volume 41 / Issue S1 / April 2017
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 23 March 2020, pp. S29-S30
-
- Article
-
- You have access Access
- Export citation
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Introduction
Maternal mental well being influences offspring development. Research suggests that an interplay between genetic and environmental factors underlies this familial transmission of mental disorders.
ObjectivesTo explore an interaction between genetic and environmental factors to predict trajectories of maternal mental well being, and to examine whether these trajectories are associated with epigenetic modifications in mothers and their offspring.
MethodWe assessed maternal childhood trauma and rearing experiences, prenatal and postnatal symptoms of depression and stress experience from 6 to 72 months postpartum, and genetic and epigenetic variation in a longitudinal birth-cohort study (n = 262) (Maternal adversity, vulnerability and neurodevelopment project). We used latent class modeling to describe trajectories in maternal depressive symptoms, parenting stress, marital stress and general stress, taking polygenetic risk for major depressive disorder (MDD), a composite score for maternal early life adversities, and prenatal depressive symptoms into account.
ResultsGenetic risk for MDD associated with trajectories of maternal well being in the postpartum, conditional on the experience of early life adversities and prenatal symptoms of depression. We will explore whether these trajectories are also linked to DNA methylation patterns in mothers and their offspring. Preliminary analyses suggest that maternal early life adversities associate with offspring DNA methylation age estimates, which is mediated through maternal mental well being and maternal DNA methylation age estimates.
ConclusionWe found relevant gene-environment interactions associated with trajectories of maternal well being. Our findings inform research on mechanisms underlying familial transmission of vulnerability for psychopathology and might thus be relevant to prevention and early intervention programs.
Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.