INTRODUCTION Findings concerning the relationship between maternal prenatal and child cortisol concentrations are inconsistent. This study examined whether the influence of an objective traumatic stressor during pregnancy, distance from a natural flood disaster, moderated the association between prenatal maternal diurnal cortisol and 9-year old offspring hair cortisol concentrations. METHODS Data were collected from 56 of the mothers who took part in a study of flood-related pregnancy outcomes in 2009 and their children. Data included distance of the maternal home from evacuation areas, four maternal saliva cortisol assessments (waking, 30 min after waking, afternoon, and before bed) provided within 3-months of the flood crest and child hair samples to assess cortisol secretion over the past month. RESULTS There was a significant interaction between proximity to flooding during pregnancy and maternal cortisol AUC predicting child hair cortisol, after controlling for maternal age, gestational age at cortisol sampling, sex of the child, current socioeconomic status and current maternal stress. At greater distance from flooding (lower stress conditions) there was a non-statistically significant positive association between maternal cortisol and child cortisol. In contrast, living closer to flooding (higher stress conditions) produced a significant negative association between maternal and child cortisol. CONCLUSION Experiencing a traumatic stressor during pregnancy may alter maternal-fetal programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The direct threat of flooding led to offspring cortisol concentrations that resembled cortisol production seen in mothers with symptoms of PTSD and their offspring. This alteration is evident in nine-year-old offspring and may help explain inconsistencies in the previous literature.

中文翻译：

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产前创伤压力和后代毛发皮质醇浓度：红河洪水妊娠研究的九年随访

引言 关于母亲产前和儿童皮质醇浓度之间关系的研究结果是不一致的。这项研究检查了怀孕期间客观创伤压力源的影响，与自然洪水灾害的距离，是否缓和了产前母亲昼夜皮质醇与 9 岁后代毛发皮质醇浓度之间的关联。方法 从参与 2009 年洪水相关妊娠结局研究的 56 位母亲及其子女中收集数据。数据包括母亲家与疏散区的距离、洪水泛滥后 3 个月内提供的四次母亲唾液皮质醇评估（醒来、醒来后 30 分钟、下午和睡前）和儿童头发样本，以评估过去的皮质醇分泌月。结果 在控制了母亲年龄、皮质醇采样时的胎龄、孩子的性别、当前的社会经济状况和当前的母亲压力之后，怀孕期间接近洪水的距离与预测儿童头发皮质醇的母亲皮质醇 AUC 之间存在显着的相互作用。在远离洪水的地方（较低的压力条件），母亲皮质醇和儿童皮质醇之间存在非统计显着的正相关。相比之下，生活更接近洪水（更高的压力条件）会在母婴皮质醇之间产生显着的负相关。结论在怀孕期间经历创伤性压力源可能会改变下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴的母胎程序。洪水的直接威胁导致后代皮质醇浓度类似于在具有 PTSD 症状的母亲及其后代中观察到的皮质醇产生。这种改变在 9 岁的后代中很明显，可能有助于解释以前文献中的不一致之处。