@misc{ScholaskeSpallekDumanetal., author = {Scholaske, Laura and Spallek, Jacob and Duman, Elif Aysimi and Adam, Emma K. and Razum, Oliver and Entringer, Sonja}, title = {Increased Levels of Psychological Stress and Alterations in Stress Biology during Pregnancy among Women of Turkish-Origin in Germany}, series = {Psychoneuroendocrinology}, volume = {153}, journal = {Psychoneuroendocrinology}, publisher = {ScienceDirect}, issn = {0306-4530}, doi = {10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106269}, pages = {1}, abstract = {Background People of Turkish origin constitute one of the biggest migrant groups in Germany. They have an increased risk to develop stress-related health disadvantages, and this risk is also prevalent in the offspring generation from early ages on. We have conducted a multi-site prospective cohort study to examine the role of stress and stress biology in this intergenerational perpetuation of health disparities. Methods 140 pregnant women (33 of Turkish origin) participated in a prospective cohort study with two study visits during pregnancy and one after birth (T1: 20-25 weeks of gestation, T2: 30-35 weeks of gestation, T3: four weeks after birth). At T1 and T2, women completed the Perceived Stress Scale and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and collected saliva samples after awakening, 30 minutes after awakening, and in the evening, and venous blood samples were collected for analysis of CRP and IL-6 concentrations. Results Multilevel models showed that Turkish-origin women exhibited higher levels of perceived stress and depressive symptoms, had increased inflammatory levels (Spallek et al., 2021), a blunted cortisol awakening response and flatter diurnal cortisol slope during pregnancy compared to non-migrant women after adjustment for socioeconomic factors.Some of the effects were mainly driven by 2nd generation migrants. Conclusions Increased levels of psychosocial stress and stress-related biological alterations among Turkish-origin pregnant women may contribute to the intergenerational transmission of health disadvantages in this group.}, language = {de} }