Prenatal Maternal Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Associations With Infant Brain Connectivity

  1. Kathryn Y. Manning
  2. Xiangyu Long
  3. Dana Watts
  4. Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen
  5. Gerald F. Giesbrecht
  6. Catherine Lebel

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Abstract

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  1. Version published to 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.05.011
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.10.04.21264536: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    EthicsIRB: The University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board (CHREB) approved this study and participants provided written consent.
    Consent: The University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board (CHREB) approved this study and participants provided written consent.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    We tested intrahemispheric functional connectivity between these two prefrontal regions and the amygdala using a Pearson correlation in MATLAB.
    MATLAB
    suggested: (MATLAB, RRID:SCR_001622)
    Statistical Analysis: Standard scores from the EPDS and PROMIS Anxiety measures were combined using a factor analysis in SPSS into a single factor to quantify prenatal maternal distress5.
    SPSS
    suggested: (SPSS, RRID:SCR_002865)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    The current study limitations include self-reported mental health measures and perceived social support. We also relate to indirect imaging measures and further research investigating other regions and networks in the brain as well as emerging behaviours will aid in interpretation. Potential mechanisms linking prenatal maternal distress to infant brain alterations include epigenetic changes such as increased glucocorticoid receptor methylation in children in order to silence stress responses51. Invasive animal studies often attribute heightened and sustained cortisol concentrations to changes in infant cognition and behaviour, however the human literature is inconsistent and an indirect mechanism such as regulation of enzymes may be responsible for cortisol metabolism52. Prior research has also shown that social support can mitigate the impacts of prenatal stress on this underlying neurophysiology through normalizing the dysregulation of the HPA-axis and consequent cortisol levels22, providing further evidence for the importance of social support for pregnant individuals and the developing infant brain. In conclusion, we show that pregnant individual’s mental health has been especially impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and furthermore that heightened prenatal maternal distress can alter the developing infant brain. Our findings suggest long-lasting impacts of this pandemic-related stress on infants, and will help inform health policies and identify families who may benef...

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  3. Version published to 10.1101/2021.10.04.21264536v1 on medRxiv