Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Mod Trends Psychiatry 2021 6;32:26-39. Epub 2021 May 6.

Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA.

Psychosocial stress, driven by a variety of sources and influences, can be ubiquitous in our modern society. Prolonged exposure to these stressors can have detrimental biological and psychological effects; extant findings in childhood adversity indicate that the cumulative effects of exposure to childhood adversity increase risk for developmental delays, altered immune responses, and psychopathology later in life. The pathways by which these effects are conferred continue to be studied. Read More

J Obstet Gynaecol 2021 May 24:1-5. Epub 2021 May 24.

Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University, Tokat, Turkey.

The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between musculoskeletal problems and sleep quality and exposure to occupational hazards in working pregnant women. The study included a total of 142 pregnant women working in various industries. The risk of experiencing musculoskeletal system problems was found to increase with impaired sleep quality (OR interval min =1. Read More

J Res Health Sci 2021 Jan 18;21(1):e00504. Epub 2021 Jan 18.

Reproductive Health Department, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran.

Background: Temporary marriage is a legal form of marriage in Shia Islam allowing a man and a woman to become married in a fixed period of time. This review was conducted to identify the potential effects of temporary marriage on the sexual and reproductive health of women.

Study Design: A systematic review . Read More

Int J Gynaecol Obstet 2021 Apr 27. Epub 2021 Apr 27.

Department of Gynecology, Royal Children's Hospital, Murdoch Children's Research Institute and University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

Girls and adolescents, aged 0-19 years make up almost 30% of the world's female population yet their specific healthcare needs often slip between the gaps of pediatrics and adult women's health. Pediatric and adolescent gynecology is the clinical field that endeavors to address the reproductive health needs of this age group. The environment and psychosocial well-being, social determinants of health, have direct bearing on reproductive health, affecting menstrual cycles, menstrual hygiene, and risks for unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Read More

BMC Public Health 2021 04 7;21(1):663. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 8M5, Canada.

Background: Infant feeding practices are imperative for babies' and mothers' health and emotional wellbeing. Although infant feeding may seem simple, the decisions surrounding it are complex and have far-reaching implications for women globally. This is an especially difficult concern among mothers living with HIV because breastfeeding can transmit HIV from mother to child. Read More

Environ Pollut 2021 Jun 2;278:116856. Epub 2021 Mar 2.

Université Clermont Auvergne, UMR 6602, Pascal Institute, Endoscopy and Computer Vision Group, University Hospital of Clermont-Ferrand, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Gynecological Surgery, Clermont-Ferrand, France.

Despite the widely-known effects of air pollution, pollutants exposure surrounding pregnancy and the risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in newborns remains controversial. The purpose of our study was to carry out a systematic review and meta-analyses of the risk of ASD in newborns following air pollution exposure during the perinatal period (preconception to second year of life). The PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase and ScienceDirect databases were searched for articles, published up to July 2020, with the keywords "air pollution" and "autism". Read More

Pediatr Res 2021 Mar 5. Epub 2021 Mar 5.

Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, Epidemiology Research Center, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

Mental or neuropsychiatric disorders are widespread within our societies affecting one in every four people in the world. Very often the onset of a mental disorder (MD) occurs in early childhood and substantially reduces the quality of later life. Although the global burden of MDs is rising, mental health care is still suboptimal, partly due to insufficient understanding of the processes of disease development. Read More

Int Arch Allergy Immunol 2021 Feb 18:1-13. Epub 2021 Feb 18.

Department of Health and Psychosocial Medicine, Aichi Medical University School of Medicine, Nagakute, Japan.

Introduction: Previous studies have reported that maternal asthma increases the risk of preterm birth. We hypothesized that inflammatory reactions caused by allergic diseases might affect the uterine environment and, subsequently, perinatal outcomes. The objective of this study was to examine the associations between allergic features among mothers and preterm pregnancy outcomes in a nationwide birth cohort. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 02 5;18(4). Epub 2021 Feb 5.

School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.

Women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and other health issues after delivery. They may have a lower quality of life (QoL), experience more medical-related stress, and need more support than those without it. This study aimed to examine the six-month efficacy of an intensive lifestyle modification program on perceived stress, social support, and QoL among women with prior GDM in rural China. Read More

Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2021 Apr 26;30(4):623-642. Epub 2021 Jan 26.

Gynaecology Research Unit, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.

Background: It is not known whether modifiable lifestyle factors that predict survival after invasive breast cancer differ by subtype.

Methods: We analyzed data for 121,435 women diagnosed with breast cancer from 67 studies in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium with 16,890 deaths (8,554 breast cancer specific) over 10 years. Cox regression was used to estimate associations between risk factors and 10-year all-cause mortality and breast cancer-specific mortality overall, by estrogen receptor (ER) status, and by intrinsic-like subtype. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 01 16;18(2). Epub 2021 Jan 16.

Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61801, USA.

Background: Infants whose mothers experience greater psychosocial stress and environmental chemical exposures during pregnancy may face greater rates of preterm birth, lower birth weight, and impaired neurodevelopment.

Methods: ECHO.CA. Read More

BMC Womens Health 2021 01 18;21(1):29. Epub 2021 Jan 18.

Faculty of Health, York University, Health, Nursing and Environmental Studies Building, Room: 301A, 4700 Keele St, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada.

Background: With the introduction of oncogenic Human Papillomavirus (HPV) testing into cervical screening there is a renewed focus on primary prevention among high-risk groups. To date, little is known about the effectiveness of this program, and the extent to which individual-level factors, such as psychosocial health and agency, may play a role. In particular, it is unclear if knowledge of one's oncogenic HPV status impacts on adherence behaviors amongst women with screening abnormalities. Read More

Diabetologia 2021 Mar 6;64(3):591-602. Epub 2021 Jan 6.

Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University/CRC, Skåne University Hospital SUS, Malmo, Sweden.

Aims/hypothesis: Psychological stress has long been considered a possible trigger of type 1 diabetes, although prospective studies examining the link between psychological stress or life events during pregnancy and the child's type 1 diabetes risk are rare. The objective of this study was to examine the association between life events during pregnancy and first-appearing islet autoantibodies (IA) in young children, conditioned by the child's type 1 diabetes-related genetic risk.

Methods: The IA status of 7317 genetically at-risk The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) participants was assessed every 3 months from 3 months to 4 years, and bi-annually thereafter. Read More

J Pediatr Nurs 2021 May-Jun;58:82-87. Epub 2020 Dec 29.

The University of Texas at Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX, United States of America. Electronic address:

Purpose: The purpose of this secondary analysis of qualitative data was to understand the multifactorial influences that impact the health and health behaviors of Hispanic adolescent fathers DESIGN & METHODS: Qualitative description was the method used for this secondary analysis. The theoretical domains of the Vulnerable Populations Conceptual Framework were used to guide this study. The semi-structured interviews of 17 participants were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Read More

PLoS One 2020 10;15(12):e0242064. Epub 2020 Dec 10.

Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management and School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States of America.

Background: Telomere length in early life predicts later length, and shortened telomere length among adults and children has been linked to increased risk of chronic disease and mortality. Maternal stress during pregnancy may impact telomere length of the newborn.

Methods: In a diverse cohort of 355 pregnant women receiving prenatal and delivery care services at two hospitals in San Francisco, California, we investigated the relationship between self-reported maternal psychosocial stressors during the 2nd trimester of pregnancy and telomere length (T/S ratio) in newborn umbilical cord blood leukocytes. Read More

Asian J Psychiatr 2020 Dec 15;54:102436. Epub 2020 Oct 15.

Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Objectives: Among all known risk factors of preterm birth, psychosocial factors form an intricate collection, which includes a multidimensional spectrum of interrelated mediating mechanisms. The understanding of these interconnected mechanisms is vital for designing targeted interventions to reduce preterm births. The objective of this systematic review was to investigate potential psychosocial maternal factors and their interactions to cause preterm birth. Read More

Biol Psychiatry 2021 03 18;89(6):570-578. Epub 2020 Sep 18.

Department of Pediatrics and Department of Environmental Medicine & Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.

Background: Disrupted placental functioning due to stress can have lifelong implications. Cumulative stress and trauma are likely to have lasting impacts on maternal physiological functioning and offspring development, resulting in increased risk for later-life complex disorders for which racial disparities exist.

Methods: This study examined the association between maternal lifetime stress and placental mitochondrial DNA mutational load in an urban multiethnic cohort. Read More

Matern Child Health J 2021 Apr 18;25(4):635-644. Epub 2020 Nov 18.

Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

Objectives: Most studies examining psychosocial factors contributing to preterm birth (PTB) have focused on negative life events. Studies examining the influence of negative emotion, in particular maternal anger, remain sparse. We examined associations of maternal trait anger expression and lifetime traumatic and non-traumatic experiences with the risk of PTB. Read More

Soc Sci Med 2020 12 17;266:113461. Epub 2020 Oct 17.

Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, USA.

Maternal psychosocial stress increases the risk of adverse birth and postnatal outcomes for the mother and child, but the role of maternal exposure to childhood traumatic events (CTE) and multi-domain psychosocial stressors for the level and rise of placental Corticotrophin-Releasing Hormone (pCRH) across pregnancy has been understudied. In a sociodemographically and racially diverse sample of 1303 women (64% Black, 36% White/others) with low-medical risk pregnancies at enrollment from Shelby County, Tennessee, USA, blood samples were drawn twice, corresponding roughly to second and third trimester, and extracted prior to conducting radioimmune assays for pCRH. Mothers reported CTE (physical abuse, sexual abuse, or family violence, in childhood), adulthood traumatic events, and interpersonal violence during pregnancy. Read More

Environ Int 2021 01 27;146:106199. Epub 2020 Oct 27.

Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.

Background: Early life exposure to neurotoxicants and non-chemical psychosocial stressors can impede development of prefrontal cortical functions that promote behavioral regulation and thereby may predispose to adolescent risk-taking related behaviors (e.g., substance use or high-risk sexual activity). Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020 10 26;17(21). Epub 2020 Oct 26.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X169, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.

The early detection and management of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is an important public health goal. GDM, which is defined as a glucose intolerance that develops during pregnancy, affects about 14% of pregnancies globally, and without effective treatment, it is associated with adverse short- and long-term maternal and neonatal outcomes. Risk-factor screening is an acceptable and affordable strategy to enable risk stratification and intervention. Read More

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2020 Oct 12;20(1):615. Epub 2020 Oct 12.

Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, 125 Nashua Street, Suite 860, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.

Background: Nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are reported as unintended and rates are highest among women of low socioeconomic status. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between unintended pregnancies and maternal mental health and timing of prenatal care among low-income women.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 870 women, whom were participating in the First 1000 Days program in three community health centers in the Boston area, were enrolled at their first prenatal visit from August 2016 - September 2017. Read More

Int J Epidemiol 2021 01;49(6):1847-1855

Department of Public Health, Environment, Occupation and Health, Danish Ramazzini Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.

Background: Maternal stressors during pregnancy are potential risk factors for asthma in offspring. However, previous studies have been limited by the use of self-reported data focusing on stressors either in private life or at work. This study examined the association between maternal stressors both in private life and at work during pregnancy and asthma in offspring. Read More

Encephale 2021 Apr 21;47(2):151-156. Epub 2020 Jul 21.

DMU IMPACT, département médico-universitaire de psychiatrie et d'addictologie du groupe hospitalier universitaire Henri-Mondor, AP-HP, Créteil, France; Fondation FondaMental, Créteil, France; Université Paris Est Créteil, UPEC, Inserm, U955, équipe 15 neuro-psychiatrie translationnelle, Institut Mondor de Recherche Biomédicale, IMRB, Créteil, France. Electronic address:

Objective: The SARS-CoV-2 (or COVID-19) pandemic has been propagating since December 2019, inducing a drastic increase in the prevalence of anxious and depressive disorders in the general population. Psychological trauma can partly explain these disorders. However, since psychiatric disorders also have an immuno-inflammatory component, the direct effects of the virus on the host's immune system, with a marked inflammatory response, but also the secondary inflammation to these psychosocial stressors, may cause the apparition or the worsening of psychiatric disorders. Read More

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2020 Sep 1. Epub 2020 Sep 1.

National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Lersoe Parkalle 105, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Maternal psychosocial stress may impact child neurodevelopment, but little is known regarding psychosocial job strain. We hypothesized high psychosocial job strain during pregnancy was associated with behavioural problems in the 11-year-old children. Mothers in the Danish National Birth Cohort (1996-2002) were included if they worked, provided information on job strain [Karasek's model: high job strain (often job demand/seldom job control) and passive (seldom or sometimes job demands/seldom job control)] during early pregnancy. Read More

J Med Internet Res 2020 09 7;22(9):e22002. Epub 2020 Sep 7.

Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Clayton, Australia.

Background: The COVID-19 global pandemic has impacted the whole of society, requiring rapid implementation of individual-, population-, and system-level public health responses to contain and reduce the spread of infection. Women in the perinatal period (pregnant, birthing, and postpartum) have unique and timely needs for directives on health, safety, and risk aversion during periods of isolation and physical distancing for themselves, their child or children, and other family members. In addition, they are a vulnerable group at increased risk of psychological distress that may be exacerbated in the context of social support deprivation and a high-risk external environment. Read More

Am J Health Promot 2021 02 6;35(2):172-178. Epub 2020 Aug 6.

274071Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Purpose: To develop and psychometrically test a comprehensive measure of preconception health knowledge.

Design: Cross-sectional survey, in May and June, 2019.

Setting: Alberta, Ontario, and Québec, Canada. Read More

Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2020 10 22;125(4):399-404.e2. Epub 2020 Jul 22.

Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York. Electronic address:

Background: Previously, we found that reported infant rhinorrhea and watery eyes without a cold (RWWC) predicted school age exercise-induced wheezing, emergency department visits, and respiratory-related hospitalizations for asthma. These findings appeared independent of infant wheezing and allergy. Overall, we theorize that prenatal material hardship and psychosocial distress can induce infant dysregulation in the autonomic nervous system leading to infant RWWC and school age exercise-induced wheezing. Read More

Matern Child Health J 2020 Oct;24(10):1193-1201

Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment (RECETOX), Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.

Introduction: Measuring early-life psychosocial stress is complicated by methodological challenges. This paper compares three survey instruments for the assessment of life in pregnancy/postpartum and investigates the effects of the timing of early-life stress for emotional/behavioral difficulties (EBD) of offspring during mid/late childhood and adolescence.

Methods: Observational data were obtained from the European Longitudinal Cohort Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ELSPAC-CZ), which included 4811 pregnancies in two Czech metropolitan areas. Read More

BMJ Open 2020 07 19;10(7):e036389. Epub 2020 Jul 19.

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Purpose: Puerto Rican children experience high rates of asthma and obesity. Further, infants born in Puerto Rico are more at risk for being born prematurely compared with infants on the mainland USA. Environmental exposures from multiple sources during critical periods of child development, potentially modified by psychosocial factors, may contribute to these adverse health outcomes. Read More