Although maternal postpartum depressive symptoms (PDS) are associated with child behavior problems, the underlying biological mechanisms are poorly understood. Thus, the current study focused on 193 healthy mother-child dyads and investigated child cortisol and telomere length as potential mediating factors. At 3 and 6 months postpartum, mothers reported on PDS. At age 6, children provided saliva and buccal swab samples. At age 10, mothers and children reported on child behavior problems. Structural equation modelling revealed (a) no association between PDS and child behavior problems and thus no possibility of mediation, but that (b) lower cortisol forecast more child-reported internalizing problems, and (c) shorter telomere length predicted more child-reported internalizing and externalizing problems. These findings raise mediational questions about the determinants of these biomarkers.

中文翻译：

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产后抑郁症状的生物嵌入：皮质醇和端粒长度的潜在作用

尽管产妇产后抑郁症状 (PDS) 与儿童行为问题有关，但其潜在的生物学机制却知之甚少。因此，当前的研究集中在 193 名健康的母子二元组，并调查了儿童皮质醇和端粒长度作为潜在的中介因素。在产后 3 个月和 6 个月，母亲报告了 PDS。6 岁时，儿童提供唾液和口腔拭子样本。在 10 岁时，母亲和孩子报告了儿童行为问题。结构方程模型显示 (a) PDS 和儿童行为问题之间没有关联，因此没有调解的可能性，但 (b) 较低的皮质醇预测更多儿童报告的内化问题，以及 (c) 较短的端粒长度预测更多儿童报告的内化和外化问题。