Lack of effect of psychosocial stress on maternal corticotropin-releasing factor and catecholamine levels at 28 weeks' gestation

OBJECTIVE: Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and catecholamines are amon g the major hormones activated during the adaptive response to stressful st imuli. In pregnant women, serum CRF and catecholamines levels increase duri ng labor and preterm delivery. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether psychosocial stress measures are correlated with serum CRF or urin ary catecholamine [ie, epinephrine, norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA)] lev els in healthy midtrimester pregnant women. METHODS: A large group of white pregnant women (n = 382) participated in th e present study. The Work Conditions Questionnaire and the Psychiatric Epid emiology Research Interview were administered to measure job stress and gen eral life stress, respectively. Urine and blood specimens were collected at 28 weeks of gestation at the time of psychosocial evaluation. Epinephrine, NE, and DA were quantified in the urine by a highly sensitive method based on an amperometric detector. Serum CRF and cortisol levels were measured i n blood specimens by using specific radioimmunoassays. RESULTS: Serum CRF and cortisol levels did not vary between patients with h igh and low scores on psychological tests, and no correlation was found bet ween CRF and cortisol levels. One job stress measure, low job latitude, was significantly associated with a mild increase in NE and DA levels in the a fternoon and night (P <. 05, analysis of variance). Serum cortisol levels w ere inversely correlated with NE in the morning (r = -0.447; P = .002) and night segments (r = -0.391; P = .007) and with DA in the night period (r = -0.367; P = .013). CONCLUSION: The absence of a significant relationship between CRF/cortisol and psychosocial stress measures in pregnant women suggests that the hypoth alamic-pituitary-adrenal response to psychosocial stress may be masked at m idtrimester by the constantly high levels of placental CRF, whose control i s beyond the influence of environmental stressors. Copyright (C) 2001 by th e Society for Gynecologic Investigation.