Impact of sedentary behavior and emotional support on prenatal psychological distress and birth outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract. BACKGROUND: Studies have reported mixed findings regarding the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on pregnant women and birth outcomes. This study used a quasi-experimental design to account for potential confounding by sociodemographic characteristics. METHODS: Data were drawn from 16 prenatal cohorts participating in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program. Women exposed to the pandemic (delivered between 12 March 2020 and 30 May 2021) (n = 501) were propensity-score matched on maternal age, race and ethnicity, and child assigned sex at birth with 501 women who delivered before 11 March 2020. Participants reported on perceived stress, depressive symptoms, sedentary behavior, and emotional support during pregnancy. Infant gestational age (GA) at birth and birthweight were gathered from medical record abstraction or maternal report. RESULTS: After adjusting for propensity matching and covariates (maternal education, public assistance, employment status, prepregnancy body mass index), results showed a small effect of pandemic exposure on shorter GA at birth, but no effect on birthweight adjusted for GA. Women who were pregnant during the pandemic reported higher levels of prenatal stress and depressive symptoms, but neither mediated the association between pandemic exposure and GA. Sedentary behavior and emotional support were each associated with prenatal stress and depressive symptoms in opposite directions, but no moderation effects were revealed. CONCLUSIONS: There was no strong evidence for an association between pandemic exposure and adverse birth outcomes. Furthermore, results highlight the importance of reducing maternal sedentary behavior and encouraging emotional support for optimizing maternal health regardless of pandemic conditions.

DNA methylation architecture of the ACE2 gene in nasal cells of children.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 enters cells via angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors, highly expressed in nasal epithelium with parallel high infectivity.1,2 The nasal epigenome is in direct contact with the environment and could explain COVID-19 disparities by reflecting social and environmental influences on ACE2 regulation. We collected nasal swabs from anterior nares of 547 children, measured DNA methylation (DNAm), and tested differences at 15 ACE2 CpGs by sex, age, race/ethnicity and epigenetic age. ACE2 CpGs were differentially methylated by sex with 12 sites having lower DNAm (mean = 12.71%) and 3 sites greater DNAm (mean = 1.45%) among females relative to males. We observed differential DNAm at 5 CpGs for Hispanic females (mean absolute difference = 3.22%) and lower DNAm at 8 CpGs for Black males (mean absolute difference = 1.33%), relative to white participants. Longer DNAm telomere length was associated with greater ACE2 DNAm at 11 and 13 CpGs among males (mean absolute difference = 7.86%) and females (mean absolute difference = 8.21%), respectively. Nasal ACE2 DNAm differences could contribute to our understanding COVID-19 severity and disparities reflecting upstream environmental and social influences. Findings need to be confirmed among adults and patients with risk factors for COVID-19 severity.