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Prenatal maternal C‐reactive protein prospectively predicts child executive functioning at ages 4–6 years
Author(s) -
Morgan Julia E.,
Lee Steve S.,
Mahrer Nicole E.,
Guardino Christine M.,
Davis Elysia Poggi,
Shalowitz Madeleine U.,
Ramey Sharon L.,
Dunkel Schetter Christine
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.21982
Subject(s) - pregnancy , medicine , gestational age , prospective cohort study , obstetrics , c reactive protein , cognitive flexibility , birth weight , gestation , body mass index , pediatrics , cognition , inflammation , psychiatry , genetics , biology
This prospective longitudinal study evaluated multiple maternal biomarkers from the preconception and prenatal periods as time‐sensitive predictors of child executive functioning (EF) in 100 mother–child dyads. Maternal glycated hemoglobin (HbA 1C ), C‐reactive protein (CRP), and blood pressure (BP) were assayed before pregnancy and during the second and third trimesters. Subsequently, children were followed from birth and assessed for EF (i.e. cognitive flexibility, response inhibition) at ages 4–6 years. Perinatal data were also extracted from neonatal records. Higher maternal CRP, but not maternal HbA 1C or BP, uniquely predicted poorer child cognitive flexibility, even with control of maternal HbA 1C and BP, relevant demographic factors, and multiple prenatal/perinatal covariates (i.e. preconception maternal body mass index, maternal depression, maternal age at birth, child birth weight, child birth order, child gestational age, and child birth/neonatal complications). Predictions from maternal CRP were specific to the third trimester, and third trimester maternal CRP robustly predicted child cognitive flexibility independently of preconception and second trimester CRP. Child response inhibition was unrelated to maternal biomarkers from all time points. These findings provide novel, prospective evidence that maternal inflammation uniquely predicts child cognitive flexibility deficits, and that these associations depend on the timing of exposure before or during pregnancy.