Table 1.
Characteristics of Articles Included in the Review
| Article | N | Prenatal Maternal Stress Exposure Variable | Timing of Exposure Measurement | Child Health Outcome Categories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NO SEX-DEPENDENT EFFECTa (k=15; 30%) | ||||
| Kingsbury et al. 2016 | 9,166 | Life Events; Psychological: Perceived impact of events |
18 weeks gestations | Emotional/Behavioral: Depression/anxiety symptoms |
| O'Donnell et al. 2017b | 6,969 & 425 | Psychological: Anxiety & depression | 18 and 32 weeks gestation | Cognitive Development; Emotional/Behavioral: ADHD/conduct symptoms |
| Gaillard et al. 2016 | 1,116 | Biological: C-reactive protein plasma level | Second trimester | Physical: Body composition |
| Mansell et al. 2016 | 481 | Psychological: Perceived stress & depression | 28 weeks gestation | Physical: Neural/nervous system development |
| Giesbrecht et al. 2015 | 291 | Biological: Maternal cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase; Psychological: Depression and anxiety |
22 weeks and 32 weeks gestation | Physical: Fetal/neonatal health |
| Koutra et al. 2017 | 288 | Psychological: Anxiety & depression | 28-32 weeks gestation | Physical: Motor development; Cognitive Development; Emotional/Behavioral: ADHD/conduct symptoms & broad psychopathology measures |
| Lee et al. 2017 | 199 | Life Events | M=28.4 weeks gestation | Physical: Respiratory health |
| Rash et al. 2015 | 194 | Biological: Salivary cortisol; Psychological: Depression |
14 & 32 weeks gestation | Physical: Neural/nervous system development |
| Simcock et al. 2016 | 130 | Natural Disaster; Psychological: Perceived impact of events & related symptoms |
Any time during pregnancy | Physical: Motor development |
| Liu et al. 2016 | 111 | Natural Disaster; Psychological: Perceived impact of events & related symptoms |
Various times in pregnancy | Physical: Body composition |
| Dancause et al. 2015 | 106 | Natural Disaster; Psychological: Perceived impact of events & related symptoms |
Various times in pregnancy | Physical: Body composition |
| Davis et al. 2017 | 91 | Biological: Plasma cortisol | 19 and 31 weeks gestation | Physical: Neural/nervous system development; Cognitive Development |
| Braithwaite et al. 2016 | 88 | Psychological: Depression; Biological: Cortisol reactivity |
Second or third trimester | Physical: Neural/nervous system development |
| Entringer et al. 2017 | 67 | Biological: Cumulative cortisol production | Repeated throughout pregnancy | Physical: Body composition |
| St-Hilaire et al. 2015 | 54 | Natural Disaster; Psychological: Perceived impact of events |
Any time during pregnancy | Emotional/Behavioral: Eating disorder symptoms |
| SIGNIFICANT SEX INTERACTIONc (k=17; 34%) | ||||
| Quarini et al. 2016 | 7,959 | Psychological: Depression | 18 and 32 weeks gestation | Emotional/Behavioral: Depression/anxiety symptoms |
| Gilman et al. 2016 | 1,258 | Biological: Inflammatory cytokines | Late 2nd or early 3rd trimester | Emotional/Behavioral: Depression/anxiety symptoms |
| Bendiksen et al. 2015 | 1,195 | Psychological: Anxiety & depression | 17 & 30 weeks gestation | Emotional/Behavioral: ADHD/conduct symptoms |
| Maselko et al. 2016 | 885 | Psychological: Depression | Third trimester | Emotional/Behavioral: Broad psychopathology measures |
| Bandoli et al. 2016 | 344 | Psychological: Depression | 32 weeks gestation | Physical: Motor development; Cognitive Development |
| Fineberg et al. 2016 | 301 | Life Events; Psychological: Anxiety, negative affect |
Second trimester | Emotional/Behavioral: Schizophrenia spectrum disorders |
| Giesbrecht et al. 2017 | 236 | Biological: Cortisol; Psychological: Distress |
14 weeks and 32 weeks | Physical: Neural/nervous system development |
| Braithwaite, Pickles et al. 2017 | 216 | Biological: Cortisol | Measured at 32 weeks | Emotional: Temperament |
| Kaitz et al. 2015 | 212 | Psychological: Anxiety | Third Trimester | Physical: Fetal/neonatal health |
| Doyle et al. 2015 | 125 | Psychological: Negative mood; Biological: Cortisol, diastolic blood pressure, immune markers |
Second and Third Trimester | Physical: Neural/nervous system development |
| Simcock, Elgbeili et al. 2017 | 121 | Natural Disaster; Psychological: Perceived impact of events & related symptoms |
General Pregnancy (Timing measured) | Emotional/Behavioral: Temperament |
| Simcock, Laplante et al. 2017 | 115 | Natural Disaster; Psychological: Perceived impact of events & related symptoms |
General Pregnancy (Timing measured) | Cognitive Development |
| Yong Ping et al. 2015 | 94 | Natural Disaster; Psychological: Perceived impact of events & related symptoms |
General Pregnancy | Physical: Neural/nervous system development |
| Braithwaite, Murphy et al. 2017 | 88 | Biological: Cortisol and salivary alpha amylase; Psychological: Depression |
27 weeks gestation | Emotional/Behavioral: Temperament |
| Braithwaite et al. 2015 | 57 | Psychological: Depression; Biological: Cortisol |
2nd or 3rd trimester | Physical: Neural/nervous system development |
| Lebel et al. 2016 | 52 | Psychological: Depression | Measured in each trimester | Physical: Neural/nervous system development |
| Vangeel et al. 2017 | 45 | Psychological: Anxiety | Measuring in each trimester | Physical: Neural/nervous system development |
| SEX-SPECIFIC EFFECTd (k=18; 36%) | ||||
| Zhu et al. 2015 | 1,765 | Life Events | Cumulative: Prenatal Report | Emotional/Behavioral: ADHD/conduct symptoms |
| Herbison et al. 2017 | 1,214 | Life Events | 18 & 34 weeks gestation | Emotional/Behavioral: Depression/anxiety symptoms |
| Frith et al. 2015 | 1,041 | Morning cortisol concentration | 28-32 weeks gestation | Physical: Fetal/neonatal health |
| Pickles et al. 2017 | 813 | Psychological: Anxiety, depression | 1st and 2nd trimester | Emotional/Behavioral: Broad psychopathology measures |
| Lee et al. 2016 | 765 | Life Events | Cumulative: Prenatal report | Physical: Respiratory health |
| Rosa et al. 2016 | 417 | Life Events | 2nd or 3rd trimester | Physical: Respiratory health |
| Stinson et al. 2015 | 262 | Biological: Cortisol | 3rd trimester | Physical: Adult cardiovascular health |
| Soe et al. 2016 | 258 | Psychological: Depression | 2nd trimester | Physical: Neural/nervous system development; Emotional/Behavioral: Broad psychopathology measures; |
| Plamondon et al. 2015 | 236 | Life Events; Psychological: Anxiety, depression |
Cumulative: Prenatal Report | Cognitive Development |
| Wen et al. 2017 | 235 | Psychological: Depression | Measured at 26 weeks | Physical: Neural/nervous system development |
| Edwards et al. 2016 | 196 | Psychological: Depression | Cumulative: Prenatal report | Emotional/Behavioral: Broad psychopathology measures; Physical: Fetal/neonatal |
| Gholipoor et al. 2017 | 158 | Psychological: Perceived stress; Life events |
Any time during pregnancy | Physical: Neural/nervous system development |
| Stroud et al. 2016 | 153 | Psychological: Depression | Any time during pregnancy or within 3 months of conception | Physical: Neural/nervous system development |
| Moss et al. 2017 | 145 | Natural Disaster; Psychological: Perceived impact of events & related symptoms |
Pregnancy | Cognitive Development; Physical: Motor development |
| Simcock, Kildea et al. 2017 | 130 | Natural Disaster; Psychological: Perceived impact of events & related symptoms |
General Pregnancy (Timing measured) | Cognitive Development |
| Mina et al. 2015 | 93 | Psychological: Anxiety and depression; Biological: Cortisol |
17 and 28 weeks of gestation | Physical: Neural/nervous system development |
| van den Heuvel et al. 2015 | 90 | Psychological: Anxiety | 20.5 weeks gestation | Emotional/Behavioral: Temperament |
| Kim et al. 2017 | 49 | Biological: Cortisol; Psychological: Anxiety, depression |
5 times throughout pregnancy | Physical: Neural/nervous system development Emotional/Behavioral: Broad psychopathology measures |
a
Articles evaluating sex-dependent associations between prenatal stress and child health outcomes but found no evidence of sex-dependence
b
This article included two studies and sample sizes for both are listed.
c
Articles reporting significant stressxsex interactions in predicting child health outcomes
d
Articles reporting significant sex-specific associations between the exposure and outcome (a significant association in one sex but not the other)