Differential Impact of Prenatal PTSD Symptoms and Preconception Trauma Exposure on Placental and Methylation

Perinatal stress is associated with altered placental methylation, which plays a critical role in fetal development and infant outcomes. This proof-of-concept pilot study investigated the impact of lifetime trauma exposure and perinatal PTSD symptoms on epigenetic regulation of placenta glucocorticoid signaling genes ( and Lifetime trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms during pregnancy were assessed in a racially/ethnically diverse sample of pregnant women ( = 198). Participants were categorized into three groups: (1) No Trauma (-T); (2) Trauma, No Symptoms (T - S); and (3) Trauma and Symptoms (T + S). Placental tissue was analyzed via bisulfite pyrosequencing for degree of methylation at the promoter and regulatory regions. Analyses of covariance were used to test group differences in percentages of and methylation overall and at each CpG site. We found a significant impact of PTSD symptoms on placental methylation. Compared to the -T group, the T + S group had greater methylation overall and at CpG6, CpG8, CpG9, and CpG13, but lower methylation at CpG5. The T + S group had significantly higher N methylation overall and at CpG8 compared to the T - S group. There were no differences between the T - S group and - T group. Additionally, no group differences emerged for methylation. Pregnant trauma survivors with PTSD symptoms exhibited differential patterns of placental methylation compared to trauma survivors without PTSD symptoms and pregnant women unexposed to trauma. Results highlight the critical importance of interventions to address the mental health of pregnant trauma survivors.