Abstract # 1698 Childhood experience of parental separation and associations with perinatal inflammation.

Adversities in childhood are suggested to affect neuroendocrine pathways that in turn increases the risk of elevated inflammation and inflammatory disease in adulthood. During pregnancy, maternal immune activation has been linked with poor pregnancy outcome and risk for neurodevelopmental disease in the offspring. This study investigates childhood experience of parental separation and current socio economic position in relation to adult immune reaction at the event of giving birth, term or preterm. Sixty-four women were sampled during delivery and post-partum. Serum levels of Interleukin (IL)-6 were analyzed from maternal (preterm n = 27, term n = 37) and cord blood (preterm n = 23, term n = 32). Information on annual income and childhood family situation was collected through questionnaires. Multiple linear regression analyses using log transformed IL-6 data, showed associations between childhood experience of parental separations and elevated levels of maternal IL-6 from labor and post-partum, p < .05 in both preterm and term delivery. Annual income level was negatively associated with maternal labor IL-6 levels as well as with umbilical cord levels; p < .05. The results of this study indicate that early experiences could lead to sensitization of the adult immune system at time of giving birth. Future studies might clarify the importance of these findings regarding inflammation during pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]