Maternal history of Seasonal Affective Disorder: A critical missing link in neurodevelopmental research

Over the course of a year, maternal diets change, as do sunlight exposure and many other factors and these changes are related to season of conception. This project assessed if pregnant individuals with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a condition linked to changes in mood in different seasons, might have children with varying neurological outcomes depending on the season of conception. The study found that season of conception was related to the child’s ability to focus while completing tasks at 4.5 years only when the mother also reported having symptoms of SAD, with possible differences between boys and girls.  There is ongoing work on possible biological causes might be determined with a goal of improving outcomes in children.

Cognitive and emotional well-being of preschool children before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread social disruption through increased stress, changes in family routines and sometimes less stimulation for children. Some studies have found that mental health issues in children became more common during the pandemic and some have noted lower social and physical skills during the pandemic. This study took advantage of ongoing recruitment in the OBS to compare children who were assessed in the same way before and during the pandemic. The study found that during the pandemic, children in the OBS had better problem solving and working with their hands at 24 months, of age, although they had lower social skills. At 4.5 years, OBS children had higher overall cognitive skills during the pandemic compared to before. Although there were fewer social opportunities, some parents may have had more opportunities to spend time with their children and help them learn. However, most OBS families are more economically secure than the average Canadian family and results may be different in less economically secure families.

Evaluating Depression and Anxiety Throughout Pregnancy and Postpartum: Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mood and anxiety disorders during pregnancy can affect maternal and newborn outcomes. The study compared pre-pandemic and pandemic maternal mental health throughout pregnancy and postpartum. The Ontario Birth Study data showed increased depression and anxiety scores during the pandemic compared to before the pandemic, but only in the postpartum period. This shows when mothers are most at risk of mood and anxiety disorders during and after pregnancy, which can help improve screening and treatment opportunities

Fibronectin in Maternal Circulating Placental Extracellular Vesicles as an Early Predictor of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy is the name given to conditions involving excessive blood pressure during pregnancy. These conditions increase the risk of developing additional pregnancy and developmental complications. This study assessed something called small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) in blood samples to see if they can be used as early signs of hypertension. The placenta releases sEVs that carry information on placental and baby health. The researchers found that hypertensive pregnant people had higher levels of a protein called fibronectin in sEVs than those that did not develop hypertension, particularly in early pregnancy.  This finding could help in the development of a test to determine if a pregnant individual is likely  to develop a hypertensive disorder during their pregnancy.

Leveraging Leukocytes as Endogenous Biosensors to Create Novel Diagnostics for Preterm Birth

Preterm birth, where babies are born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, is an important cause of neonatal disease and mortality in Canada. Two thirds of preterm births are not related to a known disease and are considered spontaneous. When a pregnant individual comes to the hospital with symptoms of threatened preterm labour, they are often hospitalized, although less than 30% of them go on to deliver preterm. The goal of this project was to find an improved method to quickly assess if labour would occur soon, which would require drug treatment to prepare for a preterm birth, or if it was a false preterm labour. White blood cells were taken from participants when they were admitted for threatened preterm labour. The samples taken from the group who delivered in less than 48 hours were compared to those from the group that gave birth more than 48 hours later. The team examined the expression of genes in these cells, to create a test to predict if threatened preterm labour will progress to full labour. They are continuing to work to develop a faster test that physicians can use to make decisions about treating patients who attend hospital with threatened preterm labour so that only those most likely to benefit will receive drug treatment.

Altered DNA methylation in response to antenatal corticosteroids

Corticosteroids are a type of drug administered to pregnant people who are at risk of giving birth preterm. They mimic conditions that normally occur later in pregnancy that rapidly increase the baby’s lung development to improve chances of surviving outside the womb. However, there are concerns that these drugs can lead to problems in brain development. This project focused on whether babies who had been exposed to the drug had different patterns of gene inactivation in blood from their blood spot cards compared to those who had not been exposed. The team found that some genes were affected differently in babies exposed to the corticosteroid treatment. The next step is to see if these changes are related to behavioural or cognitive outcomes in children participating in the OBS Kids study. This knowledge could help to develop ways of reducing harms from administering this lifesaving drug.