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Objective: This study analyzed a relationship between prenatal mood states and serologic evidence of immune response to Toxoplasma gondii. A secondary aim was to determine whether thyroid peroxidase autoantibody status was related to T gondii status.Study Design: Pregnant women (n = 414) were measured at 16-25 weeks' gestation with demographic and mood questionnaires and a blood draw. All plasma samples were analyzed for thyroid peroxidase and T gondii immunoglobulin G, tryptophan, kynurenine, and neopterin. T gondii serotypes were also measured in the women who were T gondii positive. Cytokines were available on a subset (n = 142).Results: Women with serologic evidence of exposure to T gondii (n = 44) showed positive correlations between immunoglobulin G levels and the Profile of Mood States depression and anxiety subscales. Plasma tumor necrosis factor-α was higher in women who were positive for T gondii. Serotypes were type I (27%), type II (31%), and unclassified (42%, which shows intermediate levels of reactivity). The depression and anxiety scores were highest in type I, but this was not significant. The Profile of Mood States vigor score was lowest in type II, compared with the type I or unclassified groups.Conclusion: Higher T gondii immunoglobulin G titers in infected women were related to anxiety and depression during pregnancy. Subclinical reactivation of T gondii or immune responses to T gondii may worsen mood in pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomarkers may serve as objective measures in complicated grief (CG) potentially capturing responses to stress reduction treatment. This paper reports challenges in obtaining and assessing salivary cortisol and α-amylase (sAA) for a recent randomized clinical trial. Within-session changes in salivary cortisol and sAA for 54 older adults with CG who received Accelerated Resolution Therapy were compared with perceived stress measured by Subjective Units of Distress Scale. Bivariate correlations and multiple regressions examined changes in biomarkers. Protocols, study logs, and audit reports identified challenges. Challenges included obtaining unstimulated passive drool salivary samples and their analyses. Our sample of older females on multiple medications may have resulted in a perfect storm of moderating and intervening variables which affected the stress response. This paper contributes to the discussion on designing clinical trials for older adults which must account for physiologic changes, multimorbidity, and polypharmacy common in this population and makes recommendations moving forward.

Background: Women veterans have increased reports of sexual victimization compared to women in general, including childhood sexual assault (CSA) before military service, increasing the risk of military sexual trauma. Findings from recent studies reveal negative health effects following a history of CSA. There is a strong relationship between CSA and revictimization in civilian and military life, which may contribute to allostatic load., Objectives: (1) To determine the relationship between women veterans' CSA history and later sexual assault history and (2) to determine the relationships between women veterans' CSA and primary mediators and secondary and tertiary outcomes of allostasis., Research Design: Cross-sectional., Subjects: Women (N = 81), 18-70 years old, veterans of the U.S. Armed Services., Measures: Participants completed questionnaires and blood and hair samples were collected. Several scales were utilized: Posttraumatic Checklist-Military, Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale, Pain Outcomes Questionnaire-Short Form, Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Profile of Mood States, and an investigator-developed sexual harassment/assault instrument., Results: Thirty-three percent of participants reported CSA; of these, 38.5% reported military sexual assault and 70.3% sexual assault during civilian life. Those with CSA had higher cholesterol, triglycerides, perceived stress scores, and greater pain and fatigue than those without CSA. Hair cortisol was marginally lower in women with CSA when PSS was controlled, suggesting a dampened hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis., Conclusions: These data suggest that some women veterans with a history of CSA may have increased allostatic load and be at increased risk for a variety of later life illnesses., (© The Author(s) 2016.)

Pregnancy is associated with transfer of maternal cells to the fetus and fetal cells to the mother. In both cases, the transferred cells are described as microchimeric. Fetal microchimeric cells include semi-allogeneic stem cells, which are few in number and are capable of long-term survival in the "foreign" host. They are recognized by the maternal immune system but not rejected or attacked. These cells appear to survive and even thrive for years in a mother's body, perhaps for her lifetime. Previously regarded as potentially dangerous interlopers that might propagate autoimmune and even malignant disease, fetal microchimeric cells are now increasingly being recognized and analyzed for their healing, reparative, and perhaps regenerative roles. Fetal microchimerism (MC) may make significant and previously unknown positive contributions to women's health, longevity, and risk of disease. This article reviews the history, major discoveries, and current concepts and gaps in knowledge in the field of fetal MC.

Aim: Genome-wide association studies have identified variants on chromosome 9p21 that are associated with coronary heart disease (CHD). The relationship between these variants and the age of onset of CHD is less clear. The aim of this study was to examine the allelic frequencies and haplotype structure of eight single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on chromosome 9p21 in ethnically diverse women. We also explored the relationship between 9p21 SNPs and the age of CHD onset., Results: There was considerable interethnic allelic and haplotype diversity across the 9p21 locus with only two SNPs (rs10757274 and rs4977574) in perfect linkage disequilibrium in both races, and only a small proportion of the haplotypes shared between the racial groups. With the exception of rs1333040, whites with at least one copy of the 9p21 SNP risk alleles were found to have CHD from 1.45 (rs10116277) to 4.77 (rs2383206) years earlier than those with the wild-type alleles. Blacks carrying at least one copy of the risk allele (92%) for rs1333040 had a CHD age of onset that was 6.5 years earlier than those with the wild-type alleles., Conclusions: Different variants on chromosome 9p21 may influence CHD age of onset in whites and blacks.

Women serving in the military face many sources of stress, such as separation from home and family, sexual harassment and assault, and deployment to traumatic war zones. Some women are vulnerable to the effects of these stressors, resulting in deleterious mental and physical health outcomes. Understanding these risks through the theoretical model of allostasis can help identify those who will be most vulnerable and help healthcare providers prevent some negative outcomes and improve rehabilitation for some women when they return stateside. Women may be more likely than men to present with mental health problems such as posttraumatic stress disorder and depression after military service. They also may be at increased risk, based on their war-zone stress response, for disparate illness such as medically unexplained illness, cancer, and heart disease. The need for care for these women is expected to increase as more women are deployed to conflicts.

Objectives: To explore relationships between self-reported exercise in postpartum women and concentrations of cytokines and secretory immunoglobulin A in their milk., Method: Fifty-eight frozen, unthawed aliquots of human hindmilk were available for analysis from a previous larger study on the influence of lactation on postpartum stress and immunity. The samples were early-morning, hand-expressed, hindmilk that had been collected between 4 and 6 weeks. Milk cytokines were analyzed by a multiplex assay of 20 cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors. Milk secretory immunoglobulin A was analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Exercise data were extracted from a demographic questionnaire that was used in the original study and approximate metabolic-equivalent tasks assigned to the exercise levels reported. Based on reported frequency of exercise at a particular metabolic-equivalent task, caloric expenditures were calculated for each mother., Results: With increasing metabolic-equivalent tasks, and thus caloric expenditures, proinflammatory cytokines increased in mothers' milk. Secretory immunoglobulin A concentrations were not affected by mother's exercise., Conclusions: There are several possible interpretations for these results. These data are preliminary, and a larger, longitudinal study with a more structured exercise instrument will clarify if recommendations should be made about heavy exercise in the early postpartum months.

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among lactational status, naturalistic stress, mood, and levels of serum cortisol and prolactin and plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). Eighty-four exclusively breastfeeding, 99 exclusively formula-feeding, and 33 nonpostpartum healthy control women were studied. The postpartum mothers were studied cross-sectionally once between 4 and 6 weeks after the birth. Stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale, the Tennessee Postpartum Stress Scale, and the Inventory of Small Life Events. Mood was measured using the Profile of Mood States. Serum prolactin, plasma ACTH, and serum cortisol levels were measured by commercial ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) kits. Results indicate that breastfeeding mothers had more positive moods, reported more positive events, and perceived less stress than formula-feeders. Reports of stressful life events were generally equivalent in the two groups. Serum prolactin was inversely related to stress and mood in formula-feeders. When breast and formula-feeders were compared to controls, they had higher serum cortisol, lower stress, and lower anxiety. Breastfeeders had lower perceived stress than controls. Breastfeeders had lower depression and anger and more positive life events reported than formula-feeders. However, there were few correlations among stress, mood, and the hormones in postpartum mothers, and those only in formula-feeders, whereas strong relationships were found between serum ACTH and a number of stress and mood variables in controls. Postpartum mothers reported a range of stress and negative moods at 4 to 6 weeks, and in formula-feeders, serum prolactin was related to some of the stress and mood variables. Breastfeeding appears to be somewhat protective of negative moods and stress.

The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate selected stress, immune, and growth consequences of maternal separation and separation with supplemental stroking in neonatal BALB/c infant mice and their dams. Three groups of 5 litters each (7 pups per litter) were studied. Control litters were undisturbed. Separated litters experienced 3 h of daily maternal deprivation on postnatal days 6 to 10. Separated/stroked litters were separated also, but for 2 h, which was then followed by 1 h of stroking with a wet paintbrush to simulate maternal tactile stimulation. After the experimental period, all animals were returned to the nest and left undisturbed for 5 additional days. One pup from each litter was sacrificed on postnatal days 6, 8, 10, and 15. Spleens and thymuses were removed, weighed, and homogenized for cell sorting, cytokine analysis, and proliferation studies. Blood was drawn for corticosterone levels and hematocrit. Hematocrits and thymus weights were lower in separated mice, suggesting decreased growth and protein synthesis. Separated/stroked pups had increased splenic proliferation responses to conconavalin A and phytohemagglutinin at day 15. Separated dams' proliferative response to ConA was lower than control dams at day 15. Day 15 decreases in thymic CD8 cells occurred in pups, with an increased thymic H:S ratio in separated pups. CD90 cells were higher at day 15 in separated/stroked pups as were CD25s at day 10 in spleen and thymus. However, gene expression of cytokines was not measurable in spleen and thymic cells, with the exception of gamma-IFN in separated/stroked animals. Pooled organ homogenates were used in this preliminary work, and further studies are needed to more precisely analyze the stress, immune, and growth effects of these interventions.

The article reports a study examining symptoms of infection and use of medications and the health care system by breastfeeding or formula-feeding urban poor mothers. A prospective, self-report design was used. Mothers completed a demographic and anthropometric questionnaire, an infection checklist, and a medication and health care system survey. Results showed that more of the breastfeeders were white, older, and economically better off than formula feeders. Scores on the infection checklist were higher for those feeding their infants by bottle. Colds, rashes, episodes of vomiting, ear infections, colic, and health care utilization were less frequent for breastfed infants. This small study suggests that there is a protective effect of breastfeeding in this population and provides a basis for larger epidemiologic and cross-sectional studies.

This study of 561 rural North Carolina adolescents examined relationships among race, parental educational level, family structure, parental discipline, family violence exposure, and dating violence experiences. The sample was predominantly female (77%), with 40% black and 58% white. The subjects ranged in age from 15 to 20 years; 80% of the adolescents were 16-18. Dating violence experiences were assessed by a researcher-constructed instrument measuring warning signs of potential violence and actual violent experiences. The results suggested that recognition of abusive relationships is difficult, with many adolescents denying such a relationship but actually reporting numerous abusive events. Sixty percent had experienced violent acts during dating relationships; 24% reported extreme violence (episodes of rape, use of weapons). More than 20% of the adolescents reported family violence and 2.2% reported family sexual abuse. The study suggests new avenues for research in adolescent date violence, and for interventions with high risk groups.

This article combines data from two separate investigations. One study examined relationships between psychosocial factors and preterm milk immune variables. The other examined relationships between psychosocial and breastfeeding satisfaction factors and perceived milk sufficiency in term mothers. Milk samples were collected on the fifth postpartum day and frozen. Both studies collected data on anxiety, but other psychosocial variables differed. Mood states and social support were studied in preterm mothers, while breastfeeding satisfaction, milk maturation, and infant suckling characteristics were studied in term mothers. Milk samples were assayed for secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) and cortisol. sIgA and cortisol levels were higher in the milk from preterm mothers and were inversely related to each other in both preterm and term milk. In preterm mothers, anger and vigor were positively correlated with higher milk sIgA. The findings suggest that cortisol is present in milk and may potentially influence the secretion of milk sIgA. The relationships that were found when comparing psychosocial, dyadic, and stress factors with milk sIgA and cortisol are provocative and suggest new paradigms for studying lactation.

The purpose of this longitudinal panel study was to investigate developmental and gender influences on stress and coping in adolescents attending a suburban high school in Tennessee. Data were collected from the same 167 subjects during the freshman year and again during the senior year. Life events stress was measured through the Adolescent Life Change Event Scale (ALCES) and ways of coping were categorized from data gathered from an open-ended questionnaire. Girls reported more life events stress at both testings than boys. Life events stress was greater at senior testing for both girls and boys, but girls' scores increased more. The "gender intensification" phenomenon may account for the greater disparity in types of stress reported by boys and girls as seniors. Girls generally reported more life events associated with interpersonal and family relationships. Both girls and boys reported coping with stress mostly through active distraction techniques such as exercise. However, girls' use of active distraction decreased over time, while passive distraction increased. Self-destructive and aggressive coping behaviors increased for boys. There were no relationships between amounts or types of life events stress and ways of coping for subjects at either time.