Observational studyInfant behavior & development2015
Correlation between maternal and infant cortisol varies by breastfeeding status.
Observational study in Infant behavior & development, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Development of 24-Hour Rhythms in Cortisol Secretion Across Infancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Individual Participant Data.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Pooled it
- The role of daytime napping on salivary cortisol in children aged 0-5 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of pediatrics · 2022Pooled it
- Human milk cortisol is inversely associated with infant BMI and mediates the association between maternal plasma and infant salivary cortisol concentrations.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2025Observational
- Association of maternal psychological distress and milk cortisol with infant temperament and growth.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Molar Incisor Hypomineralization: Etiology, Correlation with Tooth Number Anomalies and Implications for Comprehensive Management Strategies in Children from Transylvania.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- [Sense of coherence in breastfeeding women: A scoping review].Anales del sistema sanitario de Navarra · 2024Article
- Association between maternal stress and premature milk cortisol, milk IgA, and infant health: a cohort study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Article
- Recalibration of the stress response system over adult development: Is there a perinatal recalibration period?Development and psychopathology · 2023Review
- Lactation duration and lifetime progression to metabolic syndrome in women according to their history of gestational diabetes: a prospective longitudinal community-based cohort study.Journal of translational medicine · 2023Article
- Birth, love, and fear: Physiological networks from pregnancy to parenthood.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2022Review
- Development of circadian rest-activity rhythms during the first year of life in a racially diverse cohort.Sleep · 2022Article
- Maternal experiences of childhood maltreatment moderate patterns of mother-infant cortisol regulation under stress.Developmental psychobiology · 2021Article
- Assessing the Multivariate Relationship between the Human Infant Intestinal Exfoliated Cell Transcriptome (Exfoliome) and Microbiome in Response to Diet.Microorganisms · 2020Article
- Biphasic Glucocorticoid Rhythm in One-Month-Old Infants: Reflection of a Developing HPA-Axis?The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2020Observational
- Benefits of a bedtime routine in young children: Sleep, development, and beyond.Sleep medicine reviews · 2018Review
- Breastfeeding and the Benefits of Lactation for Women's Health.Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia · 2018Review
- Maternal cortisol slope at 6 months predicts infant cortisol slope and EEG power at 12 months.Developmental psychobiology · 2017Article
- Chronic stress in the mother-infant dyad: Maternal hair cortisol, infant salivary cortisol and interactional synchrony.Infant behavior & development · 2017Article
- Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone As the Homeostatic Rheostat of Feto-Maternal Symbiosis and Developmental ProgrammingFrontiers in endocrinology · 2017Review
- Infant hair cortisol: associations with salivary cortisol and environmental context.Developmental psychobiology · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThe objective of this study was to examine associations of mother and infant salivary cortisol, measured three times over the course of a day, and assess whether these varied by breastfeeding status.
methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of 54 mothers and their infants aged 4-11 months. Mothers collected their own saliva and that of their infants upon awakening, 30min after waking and at bedtime. Breastfeeding status was reported by mothers and cortisol level was measured in saliva in μg/dl using standard techniques. We used generalized linear models to evaluate relationships between maternal and infant cortisol levels, and assessed whether the relationship differed by breastfeeding status: formula only compared to partial and full breastfeeding, adjusting for infant sex, race, age, maternal education, and family income.
resultsThirty-four infants received formula only and 20 were either partially or fully breastfed. Breastfeeding was associated with higher household income, higher maternal education, and white race. Cortisol levels were higher among breastfed infants at all three time points. After adjustment, maternal cortisol levels were related with infant cortisol at bedtime only (regression estimate 0.06; 95% CI: 0.10, 1.1; p=0.02). The adjusted association between bedtime maternal and infant cortisol was stronger among breastfeeding dyads than among formula-feeding dyads (regression estimate 1.0; 95% CI: 0.1, 2.0; p=0.04 vs. 0.6; CI: -0.1, 1.3; p=0.10). In addition, we assessed the influence of maternal education and household income in our adjusted model; income strengthened the observed association, whereas maternal education did not change the estimate.
conclusionsBreastfeeding mothers and infants had significant correlations for cortisol at bedtime, while formula-feeding dyads did not. These data suggest that several factors may contribute to cortisol synchrony observed in mother/infant dyads, including the transfer of cortisol in human milk, physical interaction such as skin-to-skin contact, and shared environment. In addition, our findings support household income as a possible contributor.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.