Elsevier

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Volume 77, March 2017, Pages 252-260
Psychoneuroendocrinology

Close relationship qualities and maternal peripheral inflammation during pregnancy

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.01.003Get rights and content

Highlights

  • •

    Highlights for Ross: Partner relationship and maternal peripheral inflammation during pregnancy.

  • •

    Supportive partner relationships predicted less inflammation during pregnancy.

  • •

    Indifferent partner relationships predicted greater inflammation during pregnancy.

  • •

    Relationships with friends/family did not predict inflammation during pregnancy.

Abstract

Objective

Close relationships are associated with pregnancy outcomes, but little is known about the mechanisms involved. This paper examines whether quality of women’s close relationships, specifically with romantic partner (RP) and closest friend or family member (CF), is associated with inflammatory biomarkers during the third trimester of pregnancy.

Methods

90 pregnant women were assessed during the second and third trimester. At both visits they completed self-reports describing the positive and negative aspects of their RP and CF relationships. Peripheral blood was collected during these visits, and used to measure systemic levels of cytokines, including IFNγ, IL10, IL6, IL8 and IL13. An index of inflammatory regulation, as reflected by the ratio of IL6:IL10, was also computed.

Results

Positive (e.g. support, intimacy) and negative (e.g. conflict) aspects of the RP relationship interacted to predict third trimester cytokine values. Specifically, RP relationships relatively low in both positive and negative aspects were associated with lower third trimester anti-inflammatory (IL10, IL13) and anti-viral (IFNγ) cytokines, and a higher IL6:IL10 ratio, controlling for second trimester levels. These associations were independent of demographics, gestational age, weeks between assessment, parity, pre-pregnancy body mass index, maternal stress, distress, depressed mood and RP cohabitation. CF relationship aspects were not associated with inflammatory markers.

Conclusions

RP relationships relatively low in both positive, e.g. support and intimacy, and negative, e.g. conflict, aspects were associated with a less anti- and more pro-inflammatory cytokine profile during the third trimester. These findings have implications for understanding the associations amongst close relationships, inflammation, and potentially pregnancy outcomes.

Section snippets

Participants

The sample consisted of 100 pregnant women recruited from the Evanston Hospital, Center for Maternal and Fetal Health, and the Evanston Hospital, NorthShore Community Health Clinic in Evanston, IL. Participants had to speak English, be more than 18 years of age, be at 25 weeks or less gestational age (GA), and have a healthy, singleton pregnancy. Because the focus was on the course of normal pregnancy, women were not eligible to participate in the presence of a known fetal congenital anomaly

Analytic strategy

All statistics were run using IBM SPSS Statistics 22 (IBM, 2013). Linear regression was used to model associations between relationship quality and inflammatory outcomes. The covariates included in each model were: Age, ethnicity, SES, pre-pregnancy BMI, pregnancy stage at assessment, parity, and relevant second trimester cytokine levels. As such, the outcome of these analyses can be interpreted as third trimester values holding second trimester values constant at the sample mean. Centered

Descriptives

Ninety women in romantic partner relationships completed both second and third trimester assessments. Sample descriptive statistics are presented in Table 1. The sample’s cytokine profiles are reviewed and presented in a separate publication (Ross et al., 2016). Table S1 presents the inter-relations amongst the cytokines at each trimester. The correlations between cytokines within each trimester range from r = 0.660 to r = −0.469, with a mean of |r| = 0.322. These findings indicate that a good

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to assess whether positive and negative aspects of close relationships were associated with cytokine expression over the second half of pregnancy. We measured a broad array of cytokines in circulation (IFNγ, IL10, IL13, IL6, IL8, and TNFα) over two time points (second and third trimesters), and calculated an inflammation regulatory index (IL6:IL10). Consistent with hypotheses, favorable cytokine profiles were observed in women whose RP relationships were

Acknowledgements

Funding was provided by NorthShore University HealthSystem Auxiliary Research Scholar Award, NorthShore Research Career Development Award, Northwestern University Institute for Policy Research and Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. We are grateful for support of the Evanston Hospital Labor & Delivery nurses, OB providers and residents for assisting with sample collection at delivery.

References (55)

  • R. Romero et al.

    Inflammation in preterm and term labour and delivery

    Semin. Fetal Neonatal Med.

    (2006)
  • E.E. Accortt et al.

    Lower prenatal vitamin D status and postpartum depressive symptomatology in African American women: preliminary evidence for moderation by inflammatory cytokines

    Arch. Womens Ment. Health

    (2016)
  • J. Brogin Moreli et al.

    Interleukin 10 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in pregnancy: aspects of interest in clinical obstetrics

    ISRN Obstet. Gynecol

    (2012)
  • K.P. Brooks et al.

    Social negativity and health: conceptual and measurement issues

    Social Pers. Psychol. Compass

    (2011)
  • H.A. Chapman et al.

    Partners' stress underestimations lead to women's distress: a study of pregnant inner-city women

    J. Pers. Soc. Psychol.

    (1997)
  • S. Cohen et al.

    A global measure of perceived stress

    J. Health Soc. Behav.

    (1983)
  • S. Cohen

    Social relationships and health

    Am. Psychol.

    (2004)
  • N.L. Collins et al.

    Social support in pregnancy: psychosocial correlates of birth outcomes and postpartum depression

    J. Pers. Soc. Psychol.

    (1993)
  • M.E. Coussons-Read et al.

    Prenatal stress alters cytokine levels in a manner that may endanger human pregnancy

    Psychosom. Med.

    (2005)
  • J.L. Cox et al.

    Detection of postnatal depression: development of the 10-item edinburgh postnatal depression scale

    Br. J. Psychiatry

    (1987)
  • G.F. Cunningham et al.

    Williams Obstetrics

    (2014)
  • K. D'Anna

    Changes in the immune system as measured by cytokines are associated with levels of maternal depression during pregnancy

  • M.G. Dalfra et al.

    Elevations of inflammatory cytokines during and after pregnancy in gestational diabetes

    J. Endocrinol. Invest.

    (2009)
  • A. DeLongis et al.

    Social support and social strain among husbands and wives: a multilevel analysis

    J. Fam. Psychol.

    (2004)
  • C. Dunkel Schetter

    Psychological science on pregnancy: stress processes, biopsychosocial models, and emerging research issues

    Annu. Rev. Psychol.

    (2011)
  • K.K. Ferguson et al.

    Longitudinal profiling of inflammatory cytokines and C-reactive protein during uncomplicated and preterm pregnancy

    Am. J. Reprod. Immunol.

    (2014)
  • R. Graham et al.
    (2007)

    • Cited by (0)

    View full text
    © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.