Faculty Bibliography

Maternal prenatal stress influences offspring neurodevelopment and birth outcomes including the ratio of males to females born; however, there is limited understanding of what types of stress matter, and for whom. Using a data-driven approach with 27 variables from questionnaires, ambulatory diaries, and physical assessments collected early in the singleton pregnancies of 187 women, 3 latent profiles of maternal prenatal stress emerged that were differentially associated with sex at birth, birth outcomes, and fetal neurodevelopment. Most women (66.8%) were in the healthy group (HG); 17.1% were in the psychologically stressed group (PSYG), evidencing clinically meaningful elevations in perceived stress, depression, and anxiety; and 16% were in the physically stressed group (PHSG) with relatively higher ambulatory blood pressure and increased caloric intake. The population normative male:female secondary sex ratio (105:100) was lower in the PSYG (2:3) and PHSG (4:9), and higher in the HG (23:18), consistent with research showing diminished male births in maternal stress contexts. PHSG versus HG infants were born 1.5 wk earlier (P < 0.05) with 22% compared to 5% born preterm. PHSG versus HG fetuses had decreased fetal heart rate-movement coupling (P < 0.05), which may indicate slower central nervous system development, and PSYG versus PHSG fetuses had more birth complications, consistent with previous findings among offspring of women with psychiatric illness. Social support most strongly differentiated the HG, PSYG, and PHSG groups, and higher social support was associated with increased odds of male versus female births. Stress phenotypes in pregnant women are associated with male vulnerability and poor fetal outcomes.

OBJECTIVES:Sexual abuse is a strong predictor of future psychiatric problems. A more nuanced qualitative understanding of mental health outcomes, in the context of interpersonal responses from family members towards survivors after sexual abuse, may help to better inform prevention and interventions. DESIGN:A mixed-methods approach included a qualitative timeline method to map and identify contextual factors and mediating emotional responses associated with mental disorder following sexual abuse. SETTING:Participants were adult survivors of sexual abuse, seeking support from the Sexual Assault Counselling Service, Sydney Local Health District, Australia. PARTICIPANTS:Thirty women 18 years and older with current or past mental disorder or symptoms were interviewed between August 2015 and May 2016. OUTCOME MEASURES:A qualitative timeline interview and the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI, 5.5.0) were applied. RESULTS:The MINI prevalence of current post-traumatic stress disorder was 96.6% (n=28) and of major depressive disorder was 82.8% (n=24). More than half (53%) reported suicidal ideation at some time in their lives. Women exposed to childhood sexual abuse reported being ignored, not believed, or threatened with retribution on disclosing the abuse to others, usually adult family members, at or close to the time of the violation(s). Participants described experiences of self-blame, betrayal, and psychosocial vulnerability as being the responses that connected negative disclosure experiences with mental disorder. Participant accounts suggest that these reactions created the foundations for both immediate and long-term adverse psychological outcomes. CONCLUSION:A more in-depth understanding of the type and emotional impact of negative responses to disclosure by parents and other family members, and the barriers to adequate support, validation and trust, may inform strategies to avert much of the longer-term emotional difficulties and risks that survivors encounter following childhood abuse experiences. These issues should receive closer attention in research, policy, and practice.

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors opted to revise the first paragraph of the section "Characteristics associated with maternal drinking in pregnancy". Below is the updated version.

BACKGROUND:Maternal alcohol consumption in pregnancy may have adverse effects on child gross motor (GM) development. There have been few human studies on this topic, particularly ones examining low exposure. This study examined the association between prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and infant GM development at 12-months of age. METHODS:Participants were 1324 women recruited from antenatal clinics in Sydney and Perth, Australia. Maternal and paternal alcohol use was assessed in pregnancy via interview; offspring GM development was measured at 12-months with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-III). RESULTS:Any alcohol use in pregnancy was common: 56.1%, of pregnant women drank early in Trimester one (0-6 weeks), however this reduced to 27.9% on average thereafter and at predominantly low levels. However, infant BSID GM scale scores were not found to differ significantly as a function of PAE in the first 6-weeks (low, moderate, binge or heavy PAE), nor with low PAE across pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS:We found no evidence to suggest that low PAE is associated with measurable impairment in infant GM development at 12-months. Further research is needed to examine potential PAE impacts on GM development in heavier exposure groups and through the childhood years when subtle GM deficits may be more detectable.

OBJECTIVE:The objective of the study is to investigate the experiences of couples who underwent prenatal whole-exome sequencing (WES) for fetal anomalies and the amount/type of information couples want from prenatal WES. METHOD:Participants in the Fetal Sequencing Study who had genetic testing for fetal anomalies were invited for a semistructured interview about their experience with prenatal WES. A constructivist grounded theory approach with an inductive coding style was used for coding and analysis. RESULTS:We interviewed 29 participants from 17 pregnancies. Two pregnancies had positive prenatal WES results, and 4 were terminated prior to receipt of WES results. The main themes were anxiety and stress around the time of diagnosis, education and consent for WES, coping and support while waiting for results, and receiving genetic testing results. In response to hypothetical scenarios probing the desire for uncertain results, 86% would like to be told about results for which the provider had some degree of uncertainty, and the percent desiring results decreased as the certainty of the results decreased. CONCLUSION:Participants' experience with exome sequence was similar to other prenatal genetic diagnostic tests, except for the longer wait time for results. When probed with hypothetical scenarios, participants desired more results than were provided in the study, including uncertain results that might diagnose the fetal condition. This highlights the need for specialized prenatal genetic counseling to have nuanced discussions of multiple dimensions of uncertainty with implementation of prenatal WES.

BACKGROUND:Teratogenicity of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure is established, but uncertainty remains regarding the impact of moderate alcohol exposure on cognitive deficits in infants. Separating in utero effects from environmental confounding is a challenge for observational studies; consideration of alcohol use by partners as well as mothers may help clarify this. This study examined associations between prenatal alcohol use by both mothers and their partners and infant cognitive developmental outcomes at 12-months. METHODS:Pregnant women (n = 1331) and their partners (n = 699) were recruited from antenatal clinics of three metropolitan public hospitals in Australia, and completed detailed interviews about alcohol consumptions throughout pregnancy. Infants were assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development - Third edition (Bayley) at 12-months of age. RESULTS:Alcohol use during pregnancy was reported by 65.7% of mothers and 84.1% of partners. Using multiple methods to adjust for confounding factors, no evidence for impaired cognitive ability associated with alcohol use by mothers or their partners was observed. Children born to women who drank low-levels of alcohol had slightly higher Bayley cognitive scores than those born to abstaining women. There was some evidence for an interaction between sociodemographic factors and prenatal alcohol exposure on infant cognitive outcomes. CONCLUSION:This finding corroborates existing evidence to suggest there are no detrimental effects to infant cognitive development at 12-months of age following low-level prenatal alcohol exposure. Future prospective studies involving families of a broad range of backgrounds would be informative to clarify interaction between alcohol exposure and environmental factors on developmental outcomes.

The aims of this study were to identify: (i) the proportion of women exceeding the caffeine intake guideline (>200 mg/day) during each trimester, accounting for point of pregnancy awareness; (ii) guideline adherence trajectories across pregnancy; (iii) maternal characteristics associated with trajectories; and (iv) association between adherence and growth restriction birth outcomes. Typical and maximal intake per consumption day for the first trimester (T1; pre- and post-pregnancy awareness), second (T2), and third trimester (T3) were recorded for a prospective cohort of pregnant Australian women with singleton births (n = 1232). Birth outcomes were birth weight, small for gestational age, and head circumference. For each period, participants were classified as abstinent, within (≤200 mg), or in excess (>200 mg). Latent class growth analyses identified guideline adherence trajectories; regression analyses identified associations between adherence in each trimester and birth outcomes. The percentage of participants who reported caffeine use declined between T1 pre- and post-pregnancy awareness (89% to 68%), and increased in T2 and T3 (79% and 80%). Trajectories were: 'low consumption' (22%): low probability of any use; 'within-guideline' (70%): high probability of guideline adherence; and 'decreasing heavy use' (8%): decreasing probability of excess use. The latter two groups were more likely to report alcohol and tobacco use, and less likely to report planning pregnancy and fertility problems. Exceeding the guideline T1 pre-pregnancy awareness was associated with lower birth weight after covariate control (b = -143.16, p = 0.011). Overall, high caffeine intake pre-pregnancy awareness occurs amongst a significant minority of women, and continued excess use post-pregnancy awareness is more common where pregnancy is unplanned. Excess caffeine consumption pre-pregnancy awareness may increase the risk for lower birth weight. Increasing awareness of the guideline in pregnancy and preconception health care may be warranted.

Dengue is the most common arboviral infection of humans, responsible for a substantial disease burden across the tropics. Traditional insecticide-based vector-control programmes have limited effectiveness, and the one licensed vaccine has a complex and imperfect efficacy profile. Strains of the bacterium Wolbachia, deliberately introduced into Aedes aegyptimosquitoes, have been shown to be able to spread to high frequencies in mosquito populations in release trials, and mosquitoes infected with these strains show markedly reduced vector competence. Thus, Wolbachia represents an exciting potential new form of biocontrol for arboviral diseases, including dengue. Here, we review how mathematical models give insight into the dynamics of the spread of Wolbachia, the potential impact of Wolbachia on dengue transmission, and we discuss the remaining challenges in evaluation and development.