Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31342518›Full record

ArticleDevelopmental psychobiology2020

Maternal hair cortisol levels as a novel predictor of neonatal abstinence syndrome severity: A pilot feasibility study.

Elisha M Wachman, Richard G Hunter, Hira Shrestha, Hannah E Lapp, Jerrold Meyer, Crystal D Alvarez, Edward Tronick

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Developmental psychobiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Increased risk of severe neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome in pregnancies with low placental ABCB1 DNA methylation.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Elisha M WachmanDepartment of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts.ORCID 0000-0001-9742-2434
Richard G HunterDepartment of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts.
Hira ShresthaDepartment of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts.
Hannah E LappDepartment of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts.
Jerrold MeyerDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts.
Crystal D AlvarezBoston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
Edward TronickDepartment of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts.
Boston Medical Center · USUniversity of Massachusetts Boston · USBoston University · USHarvard University · USUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst · US

Funding

Safety, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of extended-release naltrexone in pregnant women with opioid use disorderR01HD096798 · NICHD · BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER · PI WACHMAN, ELISHA · 2018 to 2022
$3.4M
Stability of Coping and Memory for Social StressR01HD050459 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON · PI TRONICK, ED · 2007 to 2011
$2.7M
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD050459NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD096798
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) after in-utero opioid exposure remains a poorly understood condition with multiple factors contributing to severity. Exposure to maternal stress may be one contributing factor. Hair cortisol measurement represents a novel technique for assessing prenatal stress. In this pilot study, the association between maternal hair cortisol levels and NAS severity was examined in 70 postpartum women with opioid use disorder within 72 hr of delivery. Infants were monitored for NAS and treated according to institutional protocol. Forty-four (63%) of the infants were pharmacologically treated for NAS, with a mean length of hospital stay (LOS) for all infants of 14.2 (SD 9.0) days. The mean cortisol level in the mothers was 131.8 pg/mg (SD 124.7). In bivariate analysis, higher maternal hair cortisol levels were associated with shorter infant LOS (R = -.26, p = .03) and fewer infant opioid treatment days (R = -.28, p = .02). Results were no longer statistically significant in regression models after adjusting for maternal opioid and smoking. In conclusion, we demonstrated the feasibility of hair cortisol assaying within the first few days after delivery in mothers with opioid use disorder as a novel marker for NAS. The findings suggest that maternal stress may impact the severity of infant opioid withdrawal.

Indexed as

MothersPrenatal Exposure Delayed EffectsAdultFeasibility StudiesFemaleHairHumansHydrocortisoneInfant, NewbornNeonatal Abstinence SyndromeOpioid-Related DisordersPilot ProjectsPregnancySeverity of Illness IndexStress, PsychologicalYoung AdultHydrocortisonehair cortisolNASneonatal abstinence syndromeneonatal opioid withdrawalopioidsstress

Identifiers

PMID31342518
PMCPMC7212239
OpenAlexW2963195141

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.