Elevated third trimester corticosteroid levels are associated with fewer offspring infections.

Bibliographic Details
Title: Elevated third trimester corticosteroid levels are associated with fewer offspring infections.
Authors: Prince, Nicole, Kelly, Rachel S., Chu, Su H., Kachroo, Priyadarshini, Chen, Yulu, Mendez, Kevin M., Begum, Sofina, Bisgaard, Hans, Bønnelykke, Klaus, Kim, Min, Levy, Ofer, Litonjua, Augusto A., Wheelock, Craig E., Weiss, Scott T., Chawes, Bo L., Lasky-Su, Jessica A.
Source: Scientific Reports; 6/28/2023, Vol. 13 Issue 1, p1-8, 8p
Subject Terms: THIRD trimester of pregnancy, ANDROGEN receptors, RESPIRATORY infections, CORTICOSTEROIDS, POISSON regression, LUNG infections
Abstract: Respiratory infections are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in early life, and recurrent infections increase the risk of developing chronic diseases. The maternal environment during pregnancy can impact offspring health, but the factors leading to increased infection proneness have not been well characterized during this period. Steroids have been implicated in respiratory health outcomes and may similarly influence infection susceptibility. Our objective was to describe relationships between maternal steroid levels and offspring infection proneness. Using adjusted Poisson regression models, we evaluated associations between sixteen androgenic and corticosteroid metabolites during pregnancy and offspring respiratory infection incidence across two pre-birth cohorts (N = 774 in VDAART and N = 729 in COPSAC). Steroid metabolites were measured in plasma samples from pregnant mothers across all trimesters of pregnancy by ultrahigh-performance-liquid-chromatography/mass-spectrometry. We conducted further inquiry into associations of steroids with related respiratory outcomes: asthma and lung function spirometry. Higher plasma corticosteroid levels in the third trimester of pregnancy were associated with lower incidence of offspring respiratory infections (P = 4.45 × 10–7 to 0.002) and improved lung function metrics (P = 0.020–0.036). Elevated maternal androgens were generally associated with increased offspring respiratory infections and worse lung function, with some associations demonstrating nominal significance at P < 0.05, but these trends were inconsistent across individual androgens. Increased maternal plasma corticosteroid levels in the late second and third trimesters were associated with lower infections and better lung function in offspring, which may represent a potential avenue for intervention through corticosteroid supplementation in late pregnancy to reduce offspring respiratory infection susceptibility in early life. Clinical Trial Registry information: VDAART and COPSAC were originally conducted as clinical trials; VDAART: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00920621; COPSAC: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00798226. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Scientific Reports is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Complementary Index
Full text is not displayed to guests.
More Details
ISSN:20452322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-36535-0
Published in:Scientific Reports
Language:English