![Newborn infant](https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2021/01/n20976067/jcr:content/image.img.cq5dam.thumbnail.500.500.jpg/1611711686148.jpg)
MSN: Mother's stress levels during pregnancy could increase risk of illness in children
UC researcher says host of conditions that start in childhood linked to DNA mutation and stress
MSN reported research findings from University of Cincinnati researcher Kelly Brunst, PhD, that indicate a mother’s stress levels during pregnancy could increase the risk of their unborn child developing illnesses later in life. Brunst, an assistant professor in the UC College of Medicine, says psychosocial factors in mothers that create stress may also be mutating a child’s mitochondrial DNA and could be precursor to a host of diseases including asthma, obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism.
"We don't just wake up one day and have asthma or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder," Brunst is quoted in MSN. "The programming effects resulting from environmentally induced shifts occur over time and likely start during gestation at the molecular and cellular level. These shifts alter physiological states that likely play a role in who is going to go on and develop adverse health outcomes.”
Read the full MSN story online.
The research was also picked up by other media:
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Stay up on all UC's COVID-19 stories, or take a UC virtual visit and begin picturing yourself at an institution that inspires incredible stories.
Related Stories
Mural by UC grad honors U.S. military history
![Local 12 logo](/content/dam/refresh/uc-news/news-icons/dark/wkrc-logo-dark.png)
July 17, 2024
Local 12 highlighted a new mural by University of Cincinnati graduate and artist Brandon Hawkins that pays tribute to U.S. military history.
Social media fuels extreme political rhetoric
![Local 12 logo.](/content/dam/refresh/uc-news/news-icons/dark/wkrc-logo-dark.png)
July 17, 2024
UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor Jeffrey Blevins tells Local 12 that online algorithms fuel political polarization on social media.
Camp aims to empower children, teens who stutter
July 17, 2024
A one-week, evidence-based program for children and teens who stutter at the University of Cincinnati will teach kids to communicate effectively, advocate for themselves and develop confidence about their communication abilities. Camp Dream. Speak. Live., which is coming to Cincinnati for the first time July 22-26, began in 2014 at the University of Texas at Austin. The Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research at UT expects to serve more than 2,000 children at camps across the United States, Africa, Asia and Europe this year.