Observational studyThe Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism2020
Biphasic Glucocorticoid Rhythm in One-Month-Old Infants: Reflection of a Developing HPA-Axis?
Observational study in The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 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
- Pooled it
- Perinatal HPA axis regulation and offspring neuropsychiatric development: mechanisms, developmental trajectories, and clinical implications.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Review
- Saliva Collection Methods Among Children and Adolescents: A Scoping Review.Molecular diagnosis & therapy · 2024Article
- Collaborating to Improve Neonatal Care: ParentAl Participation on the NEonatal Ward-Study Protocol of the neoPARTNER Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Glucocorticoids in preterm human milk.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
- Sex-specific differences in HPA axis activity in VLBW preterm newborns.Endocrine connections · 2021Article
- Biphasic Glucocorticoid Rhythm in One-Month-Old Infants: Reflection of a Developing HPA-Axis?The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2020Observational
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
contextThe hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis displays a diurnal rhythm. However, little is known about its development in early life.
objectiveTo describe HPA-axis activity and study possible influencing factors in 1-month-old infants.
designObservational.
settingAmsterdam University Medical Center, location VU University Medical Center (VUMC), and Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis (OLVG), Amsterdam.
participantsFifty-five mother-infant pairs.
interventionsCollection of breast milk and infants' saliva 1 month postpartum for analysis of glucocorticoids (GCs; ie, cortisol and cortisone) using liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry.
main outcome measureGC rhythm in infants' saliva and associations with vulnerability for maternal psychological distress (increased Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS] score) or consultation at the Psychiatric Obstetric Pediatric (POP clinic), season at sampling, sex, and breast milk GC rhythmicity analyzed with SigmaPlot 14.0 software (Systat Software, San Jose, CA, USA) and regression analyses.
resultsA significant biphasic GC rhythm was detected in infants, with mean peaks [standard error of the mean, SEM] at 6:53 am [1:01] and 18:36 pm [1:49] for cortisol, and at 8:50 am [1:11] and 19:57 pm [1:13] for cortisone. HADS score, POP consultation, season at sampling, and sex were not associated with the infants' GC rhythm. Breast milk cortisol maximum was positively associated with infants' cortisol area-under-the-curve (AUC) increase and maximum. Higher breast milk cortisone AUC increase, AUC ground, and maximum were associated with an earlier maximum in infants. Breast milk and infant GC concentrations were associated between 6:00 am and 9:00 am.
conclusionsA biphasic GC rhythm, peaking in the morning and evening, was seen in 1-month-old infants at a group level. Breast milk GC parameters might be associated with the infants' GC rhythm, possibly caused by a signaling effect of breast milk GCs, or as an associative effect of increased mother-infant synchrony. These results contribute to an increased understanding of early life HPA-axis development.
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