0051 CIRCADIAN NEUROHORMONE EXCRETION AND OBJECTIVE SLEEP MEASURES IN TODDLERS PRENATALLY EXPOSED TO MATERNAL DEPRESSION AND ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION

Abstract

Introduction: Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) are prescribed for ∼30% of pregnant women with depression and are reported to disrupt sleep architecture. Furthermore, prenatal maternal depression itself is associated with disrupted circadian rhythms and sleep problems in offspring. However, little is known about the effects of prenatal SRI exposure on child sleep and circadian rhythms. We examined the effects of prenatal exposure to maternal depression and SRIs on circadian neurohormone excretion and sleep in 36‐month‐olds. Methods: Mothers were originally enrolled during pregnancy into a larger, longitudinal study and were interviewed with standardized instruments for psychiatric diagnoses and treatment status. Motherschild pairs (n=59) were categorized as: 1) No depression or SRI treatment during pregnancy (NoEXP, N=25); 2) Depression, no SRIs (DEP, N=15); 3) Depression with SRIs (SRI, N=19). Videosomnography and respiration recordings were collected on the children for two consecutive nights at 18 and 36‐months post‐birth. Recordings were manually scored by a trained rater, who was blinded to group status, for percentage of time in bed in wake, Non‐REM, REM, and sleep‐wake transitional states as well as sleep onset latency (SOL) and number of behavioral arousals. Overnight and daytime urine samples were obtained to determine melatonin, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol excretion. Results: Overnight melatonin levels were significantly lower in the DEP group compared to NoEXP (Wald χ2=8.2, p