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Cited by 93Gut microbiota and healthMaternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and PostpartumProbiotics and Fermented Foods

Association between Psychosocial Stress and Fecal Microbiota in Pregnant Women

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Hechler, C., Borewicz, K., Beijers, R., Saccenti, E., Riksen-Walraven, M., Smidt, H., de Weerth, C.·2019·Scientific Reports
DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-40434-8PMC PMC6418257
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Abstract

Maternal prenatal psychosocial stress is associated with altered child emotional and behavioral development. One potential underlying mechanism is that prenatal psychosocial stress affects child outcomes via the mother’s, and in turn the child’s, intestinal microbiota. This study investigates the first step of this mechanism: the relation between psychosocial stress and fecal microbiota in pregnant mothers. Mothers (N = 70) provided a late pregnancy stool sample and filled in questionnaires on general and pregnancy-specific stress and anxiety. Bacterial DNA was extracted and analysed by Illumina HiSeq sequencing of PCR-amplified 16 S ribosomal RNA gene fragments. Associations between maternal general anxiety and microbial composition were found. No associations between the other measured psychosocial stress variables and the relative abundance of microbial groups were detected. This study shows associations between maternal pregnancy general anxiety and microbial composition, providing first evidence of a mechanism through which psychological symptoms in pregnancy may affect the offspring.

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  • Maternal stress during pregnancy is associated with a distinct fecal microbiota profile.

    “In addition, maternal stress during pregnancy display a distinct fecal microbiota profile (Hantsoo et al., 2019;Hechler et al., 2019), that has generational consequences.”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Hechler et al., 2019

    The Discussion reports a distinct genus-level fecal microbiota composition associated with general anxiety in late pregnancy. It also says the study found no significant associations for general stress or pregnancy-specific stress and anxiety, so the broader claim about maternal stress is overstated. The paper describes consequences for offspring as a potential mechanism, not an outcome it tested. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Authors
Hechler, C., Borewicz, K., Beijers, R., Saccenti, E., Riksen-Walraven, M., Smidt, H., & de Weerth, C.
Affiliations
  • Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
  • Wageningen University & Research (NL)
Corresponding author
Hechler, C.
ORCID
Venue
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2019-03-14
Volume
9
Issue
1
Pages
4463-4463
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41598-019-40434-8
PMC
PMC6418257
OpenAlex
W2922146253
Cited by
93
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 3
FWCI
3.39
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (016.Veni.195.197, 016.Vici.185.038)
  • Jacobs Foundation
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
Keywords
psychosocial stress, fecal microbiota, pregnancy, maternal anxiety, prenatal stress, gut microbiota composition, maternal mental health, offspring development, 16S rRNA gene sequencing
MeSH terms
Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Adult, Anxiety, Feces, Female, Humans, Pregnancy, Stress, Psychological, Pregnant Women, Pregnant People

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