Intergenerational effects of maternal post-traumatic stress disorder on offspring epigenetic patterns and cortisol levels

Abstract

<b>Aim:</b> To investigate the association between maternal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during pregnancy and offspring DNA methylation and cortisol levels. <b>Materials & methods:</b> Blood genome-wide DNA methylation and cortisol was measured in the youngest child of 117 women who experienced sexual violence/torture during the Kosovo war. <b>Results:</b> Seventy-two percent of women had PTSD symptoms during pregnancy. Their children had higher cortisol levels and differential methylation at candidate genes (<i>NR3C1</i>, <i>HTR3A</i> and <i>BNDF</i>)<i>.</i> No methylation differences reached epigenome-wide corrected significance levels. <b>Conclusion:</b> Identifying the biological processes whereby the negative effects of trauma are passed across generations and defining groups at high risk is a key step to breaking the intergenerational transmission of the effects of mental disorders.