Characterization of hair cortisol concentration pre-conception and during pregnancy.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis is a system involved in stress and pregnancy regulation, and hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is a promising biomarker of its activity. Assessing factors that influence HCC in the prenatal period is critical to understand whether and how HPA axis (dys-)regulation influences maternal health and child development, particularly in high-risk populations from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Aims

This study aimed at characterizing preconception and pregnancy HCC with respect to multiple sociodemographic, pregnancy-related, and hair-related factors.

Methods

In a sample of N = 2581 pregnant women in Perú, participants from two cohort studies provided a 6 cm scalp hair sample at three prenatal timepoints. Each

SUBMITTER: Juvinao-Quintero DL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11328972 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature