Introduction: Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been associated with dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in non-pregnant samples. However, it is not yet known whether CSA is associated with HPA dysregulation over pregnancy. In the present study we assessed whether maternal cortisol levels across pregnancy differed in women with CSA histories compared to women with histories of non-sexual child abuse (CA) and no abuse (NA).
Methods: 135 pregnant mothers (CSA=30, CA=58, NA=47) provided salivary cortisol samples at wakeup, wake +30 min, and bedtime for 3 consecutive days at 1-3 time points over second and third trimester. Cortisol awakening responses and slopes were computed.
Results: Women with CSA histories displayed increasing cortisol awakening response over pregnancy compared to women with CA and NA histories. Group differences were not observed for slope.
Conclusions: This is the first study to show that cortisol awakening responses increase over pregnancy in women with CSA histories compared to women with CA and NA histories.
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