Abstract
Background
The potential impact of mothers’ prenatal emotional symptoms on foetal development has long been considered by families, researchers and clinicians. Here we explore an important counter question: could foetal development impact mothers’ prenatal emotional symptoms? We must interrogate the aetiology of mothers’ prenatal symptoms, considering the possibility of foetal effects, to ensure timely and effective targeting of efforts to best support parent and child health and wellbeing.
Methods
We examine mothers’ prenatal emotional symptoms during their second and third trimesters in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), triangulating across genomic- and pedigree-based variance decomposition methods.
Outcomes
Our genomic results from 22,292 complete mother-father-offspring trios show that 8 – 12% of variance in mothers’ symptoms was explained by mothers’ genetic variance, with additional indirect influence possible from foetal and father genomes in their second (explaining 1 – 3% of variance each, 2 – 5% collectively) but not third trimesters. Correlated effects were also observed between parent-offspring genomes. Our pedigree results from 23,463 extended and 5,511 nuclear families show both mothers’ genetic effects (explaining 21 – 26% of variance) and foetal indirect genetic effects (explaining 36 – 51% of variance) on mothers’ prenatal symptoms. In both methods mothers’ own genetic effects appeared in part unique to the pregnancy period and relatively stable from the second to third trimester.
Interpretation
Results are discussed in accordance with the strengths and limitations of each method, emphasising the likelihood of downward biased genomic estimates, and upward biased pedigree estimates for offspring effects. Together, our results suggest that foetal genetic effects on mothers’ antenatal emotional symptoms could exist and are likely smaller than and correlated with mothers’ genetic effects. Taken together, we highlight the importance of questioning the direction of causation in future pregnancy-related parent-child research.
The potential impact of mothers’ prenatal emotional symptoms on foetal development has long been considered by families, researchers and clinicians. Here we explore an important counter question: could foetal development impact mothers’ prenatal emotional symptoms? We must interrogate the aetiology of mothers’ prenatal symptoms, considering the possibility of foetal effects, to ensure timely and effective targeting of efforts to best support parent and child health and wellbeing.
Methods
We examine mothers’ prenatal emotional symptoms during their second and third trimesters in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), triangulating across genomic- and pedigree-based variance decomposition methods.
Outcomes
Our genomic results from 22,292 complete mother-father-offspring trios show that 8 – 12% of variance in mothers’ symptoms was explained by mothers’ genetic variance, with additional indirect influence possible from foetal and father genomes in their second (explaining 1 – 3% of variance each, 2 – 5% collectively) but not third trimesters. Correlated effects were also observed between parent-offspring genomes. Our pedigree results from 23,463 extended and 5,511 nuclear families show both mothers’ genetic effects (explaining 21 – 26% of variance) and foetal indirect genetic effects (explaining 36 – 51% of variance) on mothers’ prenatal symptoms. In both methods mothers’ own genetic effects appeared in part unique to the pregnancy period and relatively stable from the second to third trimester.
Interpretation
Results are discussed in accordance with the strengths and limitations of each method, emphasising the likelihood of downward biased genomic estimates, and upward biased pedigree estimates for offspring effects. Together, our results suggest that foetal genetic effects on mothers’ antenatal emotional symptoms could exist and are likely smaller than and correlated with mothers’ genetic effects. Taken together, we highlight the importance of questioning the direction of causation in future pregnancy-related parent-child research.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | SSRN Electronic Journal |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Submitted - 15 Oct 2024 |