Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40974784›Full record

ArticleChild abuse & neglect2025

Maternal history of maltreatment interacts with DNA methylation patterns to predict infant temperament.

Kendall C Parks, Jessica L Buthmann, Ai Ling Teh, Li Chen, Helen Y Chen, Ian H Gotlib

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Article in Child abuse & neglect, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Kendall C ParksDepartment of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. Electronic address: kcparks@stanford.edu.
Jessica L ButhmannDepartment of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Ai Ling TehSingapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore; Bioinformatics Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore City, Singapore.
Li ChenSingapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore.
Helen Y ChenKK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore City, Singapore; Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore City, Singapore.
Ian H GotlibDepartment of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

Funding

Psychobiological Mechanisms Underlying the Association Between Early Life Stress and Depression Across AdolescenceR37MH101495 · NIMH · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI IAN H GOTLIB · 2018 to 2026
$6.6M
NIMH NIH HHS R37 MH101495
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMaternal childhood maltreatment (CM) has been associated with subsequent difficult infant temperament. Further, maternal CM and maladaptive infant outcomes have each been linked, separately, to increased methylation in umbilical cord blood of CpG sites in genes related to the stress response and inflammatory markers. Researchers have not yet examined the nature of the interactions of these factors or whether DNA methylation (DNAm) mediates or moderates the association of maternal CM with infant temperament.

objectiveWe tested whether DNAm mediates or moderates the association between maternal CM and infant temperament. PARTICIPANTS AND

settingLongitudinal data from 144 mother-infant dyads were analyzed.

methodsDNAm in umbilical cord blood, history of maternal CM, and infant temperament were assessed at age three months. Principal components analysis identified one methylation component with CpG sites related to the following hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis genes: ADRA1B, CRHBP, CREBBP, HSD11B1, HTR2A, NCOR2, and NR3C1.

resultsHigher DNAm levels were associated with stronger effects of maternal CM, driven in particular by maternal childhood abuse, on difficult infant temperament.

conclusionsThese findings highlight the complexity of the relations among maternal CM, epigenetic modifications to the stress response, and infant temperament. Infants of mothers who experienced more CM, particularly abuse, exhibited more difficult temperament, a relation that was moderated by heightened methylation of HPA-axis-related CpG sites related to CM. This methylation pattern may reflect an elevated stress response that is altered by maternal CM, suggesting a fetal programming formulation that should be tested more explicitly and systematically in future research.

Indexed as

Adult Survivors of Child AbuseChild AbuseDNA MethylationMothersTemperamentAdultCpG IslandsFemaleFetal BloodHumansInfantLongitudinal StudiesMaleMother-Child RelationsDNA methylationEpigeneticsInfant temperamentIntergenerational traumaMaternal childhood maltreatment

Identifiers

PMID40974784
PMCPMC12839472

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