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. 2011 Mar;53(2):184-95.
doi: 10.1002/dev.20511. Epub 2010 Oct 28.

Cortisol levels in relation to maternal interaction and child internalizing behavior in preterm and full-term children at 18 months corrected age

Susanne Brummelte  1 , Ruth E Grunau, Anat Zaidman-Zait, Joanne Weinberg, David Nordstokke, Ivan L Cepeda
Affiliations

Cortisol levels in relation to maternal interaction and child internalizing behavior in preterm and full-term children at 18 months corrected age

Susanne Brummelte et al. Dev Psychobiol. 2011 Mar.

Abstract

Cortisol levels were compared in children born preterm at extremely low gestational age (ELGA; 24-28 weeks), very low gestational age (VGLA; 29-32 weeks), and full-term in response to cognitive assessment at 18 months corrected age (CA). Further, we investigated the relationship between maternal interactive behaviors and child internalizing behaviors (rated by the mother) in relation to child cortisol levels. EGLA children had higher "pretest" cortisol levels and a different pattern of cortisol response to cognitive assessment compared to VGLA and full-terms. Higher cortisol levels in ELGA, but not full-term, children were associated with less optimal mother interactive behavior. Moreover, the pattern of cortisol change was related to internalizing behaviors among ELGA, and to a lesser degree VLGA children. In conclusion, our findings suggest altered programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in preterm children, as well as their greater sensitivity to environmental context such as maternal interactive behavior.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Salivary cortisol at each phase (Pretest, Post 1 [following cognitive assessment], Post 2 [end of session]), for children born at extremely low gestational age (ELGA), very low gestational age (VLGA) and full-term at 18 months corrected age. *Indicates that ELGA children had significantly higher cortisol levels than VLGA (p = 0.007) and full-terms (p = 0.019); a and b indicate significant differences within groups between testing phases, with ELGA (p < 0.001) and full-term children (p = 0.016) showing a drop in cortisol levels between pretest and the Post 1 time and VLGA (p = 0.037) and full-term (p = 0.033) showing an increase in cortisol levels between Post 1 and Post 2.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Scatter plot of the relationship between pretest cortisol (winsorized and log transformed) and mother Affect/Gratification adjusted for infant interactive behavior in infants born extremely low gestational age (ELGA) at 18 months corrected age.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Scatter plot of the relationship between cortisol levels (winsorized and log transformed) following cognitive assessment (Post 1) and mother Affect/Gratification adjusted for infant interactive behavior in infants born extremely low gestational age (ELGA) at 18 months corrected age.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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