Scientists discovered that stress during early pregnancy can have profound, long-lasting health consequences for children. The groundbreaking study on wild Assamese macaques reveals that even moderate environmental changes can trigger significant developmental impacts. Researchers found that stress hormone exposure during the first half of pregnancy particularly affects the offspring's stress response system. These findings could help develop preventive measures to reduce long-term health risks in both primates and humans.
"The timing of maternal stress hormone exposure crucially affects the development and health of offspring" - Oliver Schulke
New Delhi, Jan 22: High maternal stress hormone levels during early
pregnancy can have a lasting effect on the health of the children, according to
a long-term study on wild monkeys, published on Tuesday.
Key Points
1. Early
pregnancy stress significantly impacts child's long-term health
2. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal
axis plays critical role in stress response
3. Moderate
environmental changes can trigger lasting developmental effects
4. Natural habitat research provides unique insights into stress mechanisms
The study on wild Assamese macaques
in Thailand provides important insights into the influence of early life stages
on the development of the stress system under natural environmental conditions.
Researchers at the University of
Gottingen and the German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate
Research in Germany that the effects of stress were evident till 10 years of
age.
The research is relevant as stress in
early pregnancy can also have a long-term effect on health in humans and
increase the risk of stress disorders and immune problems.
The study found that exposure to
stress enhances the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The axis plays a
central role in coping with stress and can significantly be influenced by
exposure to maternal glucocorticoids during development.
The early phase of organ
differentiation in the first half of pregnancy proved to be a particularly
critical period. "Our research results indicate that the timing of
maternal stress hormone exposure during and after pregnancy crucially affects
the consequences for the development and health of the offspring.
It is also important to note that
these effects do not require catastrophic events, but that even moderate changes
in environmental conditions are sufficient," said Oliver Schulke, a
scientist at the University of Gottingen and the German Primate Center.
However, the study published in the
journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B showed that elevated stress hormones
later during pregnancy or after birth did not have the same effects.
"Our findings may help to
identify the timing and mechanisms that preventive measures should address in
order to reduce long-term health risks," Schulke said.
In contrast to studies in the
laboratory, the monkeys were observed in their natural habitat. Over nine
years, the researchers repeatedly collected faecal samples from pregnant female
monkeys and measured the concentration of glucocorticoid metabolites in them to
understand the animals' exposure to environmental factors such as food
scarcity, temperature fluctuations, and social interactions.
These values were compared with the
stress hormone levels of the offspring at different ages. The effects on the
stress axis of the offspring were evident from infancy through the juvenile
period and into adulthood at nine to 10 years of age.
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