ArticleScientific reports2023
Cumulative trauma predicts hair cortisol concentrations and symptoms of depression and anxiety in pregnant women-an investigation of community samples from Greece, Spain and Perú.
Article in Scientific reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of associations between hormone levels in hair and peripartum depression.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Pooled it
- Hair cortisol and cortisone and psychological well-being: an analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2026Article
- Exposure to Endocrine Disruptors and Stress Hormones Across Pregnancy Trimesters: Links with Maternal Telomere Length.Journal of xenobiotics · 2026Article
- Perinatal Depression: Current Knowledge.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- The relationship between self-efficacy and prenatal depression in Chinese pregnant women: a parallel latent growth curve model.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Characterization of hair cortisol concentration pre-conception and during pregnancy.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2024Article
- Recalibration of the stress response system over adult development: Is there a perinatal recalibration period?Development and psychopathology · 2023Review
- Correlates of preconception and pregnancy hair cortisol concentrations.Research square · 2023Article
- Past Traumatic Life Events, Postpartum PTSD, and the Role of Labor Support.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- The role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in depression across the female reproductive lifecycle: current knowledge and future directions.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Review
- Lifetime and childhood traumatic experiences as risk factors for persistent post-concussive symptoms among US service members.Frontiers in neurologyArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Exposure to traumatic experiences across lifespan shapes the functioning of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and sets individuals at risk to develop symptoms of depression and anxiety. Particularly, HPA axis regulation and the psychological health of the expectant mother have been of interest, as the health of the unborn child may be affected through changes in gestational biology. The present study investigated the potential associations between lifetime trauma, current symptoms (depression and anxiety) and hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) in pregnant women. A total of 149 pregnant women were interviewed in public outpatient clinics with varying gestational age in Greece, Spain and Perú. Lifetime trauma exposure and current symptoms of depression and anxiety were assessed. HCC was measured in scalp-near hair segments (2 cm length) reflecting cumulative cortisol secretion of the past two months. Results showed that trauma load is negatively associated with HCC and higher symptoms of depression and anxiety. There was a negative association between HCC and symptoms. The present findings support the notion that cumulative trauma exposure exerts long-lasting effects on the expectant mother's HPA axis activity functioning and mental health and may thereby potentially create risk trajectories for the unborn child via changes in gestational biology.
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