Invited Commentary

Commentary on “Association Between Maternal-Perceived Psychological Stress and Fetal Telomere Length”

Authors: Michael S. Cardwell, MD, MPH

Abstract

In this issue of the Southern Medical Journal, Salihu and colleagues present evidence of significantly shortened fetal telomere lengths in pregnant women who scored high on the Perceived Stress Scale.1 Typically, telomere shortening occurs over time and has been associated with cell apoptosis, premature aging, and degenerative diseases such as diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases.2,3 In utero epigenetic effects of maternal stress mediated by transplacental passage of maternal cortisol is believed to be one of the mechanisms for fetal programming.4 The authors hypothesize that maternal stress is a possible marker for fetal programming that leads to accelerated chromosomal aging as manifested by shortened fetal telomere lengths.

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References

1. Salihu HM, King LM, Nwoga C, et al. Association between maternal perceived psychological stress and fetal telomere length. South Med J 2016;109:767-772.
 
2. Frenck RW, Jr Blackburn EH, Shannon KM. The rate of telomere sequence loss in human leukocytes varies with age. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1998;95:5607-5610.
 
3. Tarry-Adkins JL, Ozanne SE. The impact of early nutrition on the ageing trajectory. Proc Nutr Soc 2014;73:289-301.
 
4. Ilekis JV, Tsilou E, Abrahams VM, et al. Placental origins of adverse pregnancy outcomes: potential molecular targets: an Executive Workshop Summary of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016;215( 1 Suppl ):S1-S46.
 
5. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 649: racial and ethnic disparities in obstetrics and gynecology. Obstet Gynecol 2015;126:e130-e134.