Browsing by Author "Malin, Julia"

Goals. Biological basis of temperament is formed during fetal period. Inflammation-related states during pregnancy, such as psychosocial stress or neonatal complications, are associated with childhood temperament. Moreover, maternal inflammation during pregnancy is associated with offspring’s adverse psychological development. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a clinical marker of inflammation. To date, no studies have examined the association between CRP and infant temperament. This study explores association between maternal and cord blood CRP and childhood temperament. Methods. This study used data from the VIDI (Children’s D-vitamin research). The sample consisted of 841 mothers. Infant temperament was assessed at the age of one year using IBQ-R (Revised Infant Behavior Questionnaire). CRP levels were measured during early pregnancy and/or from the umbilical cord at birth. Associations between maternal and cord blood CRP and temperament were examined using regression analysis with confounding variables. CRP concentration was examined as a continuous and as a categorical variable. High CRP level cut-points were CRP>10 mg/l for maternal and CRP≥0.09 μg/ml for cord blood CRP. Results and conclusions. CRP during early pregnancy was not related to temperament after adjustment for confounding factors. Elevated levels of cord blood CRP predicted lower negative emotionality and higher soothability. These results suggest a link between cord blood CRP and biological basis of temperament. These findings support previously discovered links between inflammation-related states during pregnancy and childhood temperament. In addition, the findings provide further insight into etiology of psychiatric disorders.