Introduction Over 10% of infants in the United States are born prematurely. Life-saving interventions in the NICU often expose these infants to stressful stimuli. When stress becomes excessive and prolonged, it is considered toxic and may disrupt brain development and physiological stress responses. Both preterm infant and their mothers are vulnerable to toxic stress from the NICU. Epigenetic changes are hypothesized to link early toxic stress exposure with long-term outcomes in preterm infants. However, research exploring maternal environmental influences and the dyadic relationship remain limited. Purpose The Preterm Infants, Moms, and the Social Determinants of Health: an Epigenetic Investigation (PRIMS-EI) study aims to examine how maternal environmental influences and toxic stress from the NICU impact methylation of the NR3C1 and SLC6A4 genes in both preterm infants and their mothers. Methods This descriptive study will include 102 preterm infant-maternal dyads. Validated instruments assess maternal environmental influences and toxic stress from the NICU. Buccal swabs are collected from both preterm infants and mothers during the first week of life and again one week before NICU discharge. Infant stress is measured daily using the Neonatal Infant Stressor Scale. Results and Discussion Funded by an NIH K23 award, data collection is ongoing. Prior research links early toxic stress to methylation changes in infants, but maternal patterns and influences remain unexplored. This study will contribute to understanding epigenetic alterations in the dyad and their implications for future health and development.
Malin et al. (Wed,) studied this question.