Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31345704›Full record

ArticleSchizophrenia research2019

Maternal cortisol during pregnancy and offspring schizophrenia: Influence of fetal sex and timing of exposure.

Lauren M Ellman, Shannon K Murphy, Seth D Maxwell, Evan M Calvo, Thomas Cooper, Catherine A Schaefer, Michaeline A Bresnahan, Ezra S Susser, Alan S Brown

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Schizophrenia research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed
4.4field-weighted citation impact, top 6% 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

18 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Measurement of Hair Cortisol Throughout Gestation.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026
    Article
  3. Synergistic pathways to psychosis: understanding developmental risk and resilience factors.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Exploring causal mechanisms of psychosis risk.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2024
    Review
  8. Article
  9. The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal Axis in Men with Schizophrenia.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Review
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

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Lauren M EllmanDepartment of Psychology, Temple University, Weiss Hall, 1701 N. 13(th) Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, United States of America. Electronic address: ellman@temple.edu.
Shannon K MurphyDepartment of Psychology, Temple University, Weiss Hall, 1701 N. 13(th) Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, United States of America. Electronic address: Shannon.k.murphy@temple.edu.
Seth D MaxwellDepartment of Psychology, Temple University, Weiss Hall, 1701 N. 13(th) Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, United States of America. Electronic address: seth.maxwell@temple.edu.
Evan M CalvoDepartment of Psychology, Temple University, Weiss Hall, 1701 N. 13(th) Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, United States of America. Electronic address: evancalvo@temple.edu.
Thomas CooperAnalytic Psychopharmacology, Nathan S. Kline Institute, 140 Old Orangeburg Road Orangeburg, NY 10962, United States of America; New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, United States of America. Electronic address: Tom.Cooper@nki.rfmh.org.
Catherine A SchaeferDivision of Research, Kaiser Permanente, 2000 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612, United States of America. Electronic address: cathy.schaefer@kp.org.
Michaeline A BresnahanDepartment of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168(th) Street, New York, NY 10032, United States of America; New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, United States of America. Electronic address: mab29@columbia.edu.
Ezra S SusserDepartment of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168(th) Street, New York, NY 10032, United States of America; New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, United States of America. Electronic address: ess8@cumc.columbia.edu.
Alan S BrownDepartment of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168(th) Street, New York, NY 10032, United States of America; New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, United States of America. Electronic address: asb11@columbia.edu.
New York State Psychiatric InstituteColumbia University · USKaiser Permanente · US

Funding

Training in Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders: From Animal Models to PatientsT32MH018870 · NIMH · COLUMBIA UNIV NEW YORK MORNINGSIDE · PI Guillermo Horga, Christoph Kellendonk · 1988 to 2026
$9.8M
Maternal Inflammation During Pregnancy: Clinical and Neurocognitive Outcomes in Adult OffspringR01MH118545 · NIMH · TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH · PI ELLMAN, LAUREN M · 2019 to 2023
$3.3M
Prenatal Determinants of Schizophrenia, IIR01MH069819 · NIMH · KAISER FOUNDATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE · PI SCHAEFER, CATHERINE ANN · 2005 to 2009
$2.7M
Fetal exposure to maternal stress and inflammation: Effects on neurodevelopmentR01MH096478 · NIMH · TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH · PI ELLMAN, LAUREN M · 2012 to 2016
$2.1M
Serologic Studies of Prenatal Factors in SchizophreniaR01MH063264 · NIMH · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI BROWN, ALAN STEWART · 2001 to 2002
$322k
MAINTENANCE OF CHILD HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES NAME AND ADDRESS F-275013334N01HD013334 · NICHD · PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE · 2002 to 2004
–
NICHD NIH HHS N01 HD013334NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH063264NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH069819NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH096478NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH118545NIMH NIH HHS T32 MH018870
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionMaternal stress during pregnancy has been repeatedly linked to increased risk for schizophrenia; however, no study has examined maternal cortisol during pregnancy and risk for the disorder. Study aims were to determine whether prenatal cortisol was associated with risk for schizophrenia and risk for an intermediate phenotype-decreased fetal growth-previously linked to prenatal cortisol and schizophrenia. Timing of exposure and fetal sex also were examined given previous findings.

methodsParticipants were 64 cases diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) and 117 controls from a prospective birth cohort study. Maternal cortisol was determined from stored sera from each trimester and psychiatric diagnoses were assessed from offspring using semi-structured interviews and medical records review.

resultsMaternal cortisol during pregnancy was not associated with risk for offspring schizophrenia. There was a significant interaction between 3rd trimester cortisol and case status on fetal growth. Specifically, cases exposed to higher 3rd trimester maternal cortisol had significantly decreased fetal growth compared to controls. In addition, these findings were restricted to male offspring.

conclusionsOur results indicate that higher prenatal cortisol is associated with an intermediate phenotype linked to schizophrenia, fetal growth, but only among male offspring who developed schizophrenia. Findings were consistent with evidence that schizophrenia genes may disrupt placental functioning specifically for male fetuses, as well as findings that males are more vulnerable to maternal cortisol during pregnancy. Finally, results suggest that examining fetal sex and intermediate phenotypes may be important in understanding the mechanisms involved in prenatal contributors to schizophrenia.

Indexed as

AdultBirth WeightCohort StudiesFemaleFetal DevelopmentHumansHydrocortisoneMalePhenotypePregnancyPrenatal Exposure Delayed EffectsSchizophreniaSex FactorsTime FactorsYoung AdultHydrocortisoneBirth weightCortisolFetal growthObstetric complicationsSchizophreniaStress

Identifiers

PMID31345704
PMCPMC7074891
OpenAlexW2963343152

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
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.