Early maternal risk factor profiles and their relationship to toxic stress response in infants across the first year of life

Objective: To generate a cumulative early risk score for the perinatal maternal environment and examine the association of the maternal cumulative risk score with infant development and maternal and infant oxidative stress. Study Design: This was a two-center longitudinal study of mother-infant dyads born >36 weeks’ gestation. Maternal demographic information and mental health assessments were utilized to generate cumulative risk scores. Infants’ development was assessed at 6 and 12 months. Mothers and infants were assayed for F 2 -isoprostanes, a biomarker of oxidative stress. Results: : Cumulative risk scores predicted higher maternal (p=0.01) and infant (p=0.05) oxidative stress levels at 6 months. Early infant oxidative stress at 2 months predicted developmental scores 12 months (p=0.04). Conclusions: : Perinatal risk predicted both mother and infant outcomes at six months possibly informing a sensitive period in which prospective, reliable measures reveal the physiological impact of early environmental risk.