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PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO MATERNAL AND PATERNAL DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND BRAIN MORPHOLOGY: A POPULATION‐BASED PROSPECTIVE NEUROIMAGING STUDY IN YOUNG CHILDREN
Author(s) -
El Marroun Hanan,
Tiemeier Henning,
Muetzel Ryan L.,
Thijssen Sandra,
der Knaap Noortje J. F.,
Jaddoe Vincent W. V.,
Fernández Guillén,
Verhulst Frank C.,
White Tonya J. H.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
depression and anxiety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.634
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6394
pISSN - 1091-4269
DOI - 10.1002/da.22524
Subject(s) - gyrification , pregnancy , neuroimaging , brain morphometry , generation r , population , confounding , medicine , prospective cohort study , psychology , psychiatry , pediatrics , cerebral cortex , magnetic resonance imaging , genetics , environmental health , radiology , biology
Background Prenatal depressive symptoms have been associated with multiple adverse outcomes. Previously, we demonstrated that prenatal depressive symptoms were associated with impaired growth of the fetus and increased behavioral problems in children aged between 1.5 and 6 years. In this prospective study, we aimed to assess whether prenatal maternal depressive symptoms at 3 years have long‐term consequences on brain development in a cohort of children aged 6–10 years. As a contrast, the association of paternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy and brain morphology was assessed to serve as a marker of background confounding due to shared genetic and environmental family factors. Methods We assessed parental depressive symptoms during pregnancy with the Brief Symptom Inventory. At approximately 8 years of age, we collected structural neuroimaging data, using cortical thickness, surface area, and gyrification as outcomes ( n = 654). Results We found that exposure to prenatal maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy was associated with a thinner superior frontal cortex in the left hemisphere. Additionally, prenatal maternal depressive symptoms were related to larger caudal middle frontal area in the left hemisphere. Maternal depressive symptoms at 3 years were not associated with cortical thickness, surface area, or gyrification in the left and right hemispheres. No effects of paternal depressive symptoms on brain morphology were observed. Conclusions Prenatal maternal depressive symptoms were associated with differences in brain morphology in children. It is important to prevent, identify, and treat depressive symptoms during pregnancy as it may have long‐term consequences on child brain development.