Login to Access Video or Poster Abstract: MP37-03
Sources of Funding: The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Health and Labour Sciences Research Grants, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (5C-1252) from the Ministry of the Environment, Japan

Introduction

It is well known that prenatal environment affects infant development and prenatal stress has a negative impact on their child outcomes. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is one of the major systems involved in stress response and its regulation. In fact, maternal cortisol also can pass through the placenta and affect fetal cortisol level and HPA development. In the present study, we investigated relationship between steroids levels in cord blood and body weight at birth.

Methods

Of 514 who participated in a prospective cohort study of birth in Sapporo, the following steroid hormone levels in 294 stored cord blood (135 boys and 159 girls) were measured; estradiol (E), testosterone (T), progesterone (P), androstenedione (4-dione), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), cortisol and cortisone. Information of birth weight obtained from medical records at birth. The relationship between birth weight and steroid hormone levels in cord blood samples was calculated using a multiple linear regression analysis. The inclusion of covariates was based on biological considerations and adjustments were made for gestational age, maternal smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy, and body weight of parents. Significance levels were set to 0.05 for all comparisons.

Results

The median concentrations of T and T/E were significantly higher in males than in females, while the median concentration of DHEA was significantly higher in females. There was a trend that birth weight was heavier in boys than in girls. Mother’s weight before pregnancy, not father’s weight, significantly affected birth weight of their children. Regarding the hormone levels of P, Cortisone, 4-Dion/DHEA and Cortisone/Cortisol in cord blood, there was significant relationship with birth weight in boys, not in girls (Table).

Conclusions

The present study indicated that prenatal adrenal steroids affected body weight at birth. Further, 4-Dion/DHEA and Cortisol/Cortisone indicate activity of 3β-hydrosteroid dehydrogenase 11β-hydrosteroid dehydrogenase type 2, respectively. Thus, in addition to adrenal steroid hormones, converting enzymes such as 11β-hydrosteroid dehydrogenase type 2 and 3β-hydrosteroid dehydrogenase in the placenta and fetal adrenal gland may also have impact on birth weight in boys.

Funding

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Health and Labour Sciences Research Grants, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (5C-1252) from the Ministry of the Environment, Japan