ArticleTranslational psychiatry2021
The placental lipidome of maternal antenatal depression predicts socio-emotional problems in the offspring.
Article in Translational psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- From placenta to the foetus: a systematic review of in vitro models of stress- and inflammation-induced depression in pregnancy.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Does gestational vitamin D attenuate the negative effects of prenatal depression on offspring emotional and behavioral problems? Findings in the ECHO cohort.Psychological medicine · 2026Article
- Umbilical Cord Plasma Lysophospholipids and Triacylglycerols Associated with Birthweight Percentiles.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Metabolomic profiles of chronic distress are associated with cardiovascular disease risk and inflammation-related risk factors.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2023Observational
- Erythrocyte Membrane Fatty Acid Composition as a Potential Biomarker for Depression.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2023Article
- Assessing the risk of prenatal depressive symptoms in Chinese women: an integrated evaluation of serum metabolome, multivitamin supplement intake, and clinical blood indicators.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Increasing maternal age associates with lower placentalFrontiers in physiology · 2023Article
- The Intergenerational Impact of Structural Racism and Cumulative Trauma on Depression.The American journal of psychiatry · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
19 authors at 6 institutions in 6 countries.
Funding
Abstract
While maternal mental health strongly influences neurodevelopment and health in the offspring, little is known about the determinants of inter-individual variation in the mental health of mothers. Likewise, the in utero biological pathways by which variation in maternal mental health affects offspring development remain to be defined. Previous studies implicate lipids, consistent with a known influence on cognitive and emotional function, but the relevance for maternal mental health and offspring neurodevelopment is unclear. This study characterizes the placental and circulatory lipids in antenatal depression, as well as socio-emotional outcomes in the offspring. Targeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry covering 470 lipid species was performed on placenta from 186 women with low (n = 70) or high (n = 116) levels of antenatal depressive symptoms assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at 26 weeks' gestation. Child socio-emotional outcomes were assessed from the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL) at 48 months. Seventeen placental lipid species showed an inverse association with antenatal EPDS scores. Specifically, lower levels of phospholipids containing LC-PUFAs: omega-3 docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and omega-6 arachidonic acid (AA) were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Additional measurement of LC-PUFA in antenatal plasma samples at mid-gestation confirmed the reduced circulation of these specific fatty acids in mothers. Reduced concentration of the placental phospholipids also predicted poorer socio-emotional outcomes in the offspring. This study provides new insights into the role of the materno-fetal lipid cross-talk as a mechanism linking maternal mental health to that of the offspring. These findings show the potential utility of nutritional approaches among pregnant women with depressive symptoms to reduce offspring risk for later socio-emotional problems.
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.