INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 05 Program Schedule 02/15/2024 02:30 pm - 03:45 pm Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60) Poster Session 05: Neuropsychiatry \| Addiction/Dependence \| Stress/Coping \| Emotional/Social Processes Final Abstract #34 Investigating Potential Associations Between Postnatal Maternal Alcohol Use and Variation in Infant Cortisol Levels Madison Forde, New York University School of Medicine, New York, United States Harini Srinivasan, New York University School of Medicine, New York, United States Sarwat Siddiqui, New York University School of Medicine, New York, United States Lauren Shuffrey, New York University School of Medicine, New York, United States Moriah Thomason, New York University School of Medicine, New York, United States Category: Drug/Toxin-Related Disorders (including Alcohol) Keyword 1: alcohol Keyword 2: substance abuse Keyword 3: child development (normal) Objective: Variation in the early caregiving environment can influence critical aspects of infant growth and development, with implications for life long health. An area of particular interest for our group is potential associations between maternal alcohol use behavior and variation in infant cortisol levels. Cortisol plays a crucial role in child development, shaping physiological maturation and stress reactivity. Postnatal maternal alcohol use is an area of behavioral variation that has scarcely been studied in the context of this emergent system. Given that methods for quantifying cortisol in child fingernails, toenails and hair are relatively new, a secondary objective of this work is to evaluate consistency of infant cortisol levels measured across these modalities and across time. Participants and Methods: 89 mother-infant dyads collected infant hair, toenail, and fingernail samples at 6 and/or 12 months of age. Biologically implausible values (>100 pg/mg) and log transformed skewed values (>1) were excluded. Pearson’s correlations were used to examine within time point associations in cortisol across sample types. Self-reported maternal alcohol consumption at 6 and 12 months postnatally were collected using a substance use questionnaire which asks about participant’s about frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption over the last month. Results: At 6 months of age, infants with higher fingernail cortisol had higher hair and toenail cortisol levels (fingernail-hair: r=0.81, p=0.003; fingernail-toenail: r=0.70, p=0.001). Toenail and hair cortisol was not correlated at 6 months (r=0.63, p=0.092). All cortisol samples were positively correlated at 12 months, (hair-fingernail: r=0.92, p<0.001; hair-toenail: r=0.80, p<0.001; fingernail-toenail: r=0.87, p<0.001). There were no significant associations between the total number of maternal self-reported drinks per month and child hair and fingernail cortisol at 6 months (hair–drink: b=-0.05, p=0.42; fingernail–drink: b=0.002, p=0.91). Additionally, there were no significant associations between total self-reported drinks per month and child hair, fingernail and toenail cortisol at the 12 months (hair-drink: b=-0.13, p=0.12; fingernail-drink: b=-0.08, p=0.22; toenail–drink: b=-0.05, p=0.49). At 6 months, significant correlations were found between total drinks per month reported by mothers and child toenail cortisol (toenail-drink: b=-0.08, p=0.03). Conclusions: These data support the presence of an association between infant cortisol measures and maternal alcohol use; however, we note that observed effect sizes are very modest. We interpret this pattern with caution given flaws of response bias in self report measures and consistent low levels of drinking behaviors observed. The methodological data suggest that cortisol measures are highly consistent across material type and over time. Previous literature suggests that lower child cortisol levels may be the result of an adaptive mechanism occurring due to high alcohol intake exposure. Additional research is needed to parse substance use patterns in nuanced ways and as they relate to foundations of caregiving to comprehend how infant physiology is altered by caregiver behavioral variation.

Poster

02/15/2024
02:30 pm - 03:45 pm
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)

Poster Session 05: Neuropsychiatry | Addiction/Dependence | Stress/Coping | Emotional/Social Processes

Final Abstract #34

Investigating Potential Associations Between Postnatal Maternal Alcohol Use and Variation in Infant Cortisol Levels

Madison Forde, New York University School of Medicine, New York, United States
Harini Srinivasan, New York University School of Medicine, New York, United States
Sarwat Siddiqui, New York University School of Medicine, New York, United States
Lauren Shuffrey, New York University School of Medicine, New York, United States
Moriah Thomason, New York University School of Medicine, New York, United States

Category: Drug/Toxin-Related Disorders (including Alcohol)

Keyword 1: alcohol
Keyword 2: substance abuse
Keyword 3: child development (normal)

Objective:

Variation in the early caregiving environment can influence critical aspects of infant growth and development, with implications for life long health. An area of particular interest for our group is potential associations between maternal alcohol use behavior and variation in infant cortisol levels. Cortisol plays a crucial role in child development, shaping physiological maturation and stress reactivity. Postnatal maternal alcohol use is an area of behavioral variation that has scarcely been studied in the context of this emergent system. Given that methods for quantifying cortisol in child fingernails, toenails and hair are relatively new, a secondary objective of this work is to evaluate consistency of infant cortisol levels measured across these modalities and across time.

Participants and Methods:

89 mother-infant dyads collected infant hair, toenail, and fingernail samples at 6 and/or 12 months of age. Biologically implausible values (>100 pg/mg) and log transformed skewed values (>1) were excluded. Pearson’s correlations were used to examine within time point associations in cortisol across sample types. Self-reported maternal alcohol consumption at 6 and 12 months postnatally were collected using a substance use questionnaire which asks about participant’s about frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption over the last month.

Results:

At 6 months of age, infants with higher fingernail cortisol had higher hair and toenail cortisol levels (fingernail-hair: r=0.81, p=0.003; fingernail-toenail: r=0.70, p=0.001). Toenail and hair cortisol was not correlated at 6 months (r=0.63, p=0.092). All cortisol samples were positively correlated at 12 months, (hair-fingernail: r=0.92, p<0.001; hair-toenail: r=0.80, p<0.001; fingernail-toenail: r=0.87, p<0.001). There were no significant associations between the total number of maternal self-reported drinks per month and child hair and fingernail cortisol at 6 months (hair–drink: b=-0.05, p=0.42; fingernail–drink: b=0.002, p=0.91). Additionally, there were no significant associations between total self-reported drinks per month and child hair, fingernail and toenail cortisol at the 12 months (hair-drink: b=-0.13, p=0.12; fingernail-drink: b=-0.08, p=0.22; toenail–drink: b=-0.05, p=0.49). At 6 months, significant correlations were found between total drinks per month reported by mothers and child toenail cortisol (toenail-drink: b=-0.08, p=0.03).

Conclusions:

These data support the presence of an association between infant cortisol measures and maternal alcohol use; however, we note that observed effect sizes are very modest. We interpret this pattern with caution given flaws of response bias in self report measures and consistent low levels of drinking behaviors observed. The methodological data suggest that cortisol measures are highly consistent across material type and over time. Previous literature suggests that lower child cortisol levels may be the result of an adaptive mechanism occurring due to high alcohol intake exposure. Additional research is needed to parse substance use patterns in nuanced ways and as they relate to foundations of caregiving to comprehend how infant physiology is altered by caregiver behavioral variation.