Prenatal stress potentiates febrile seizure and leads to long-lasting increase in cortisol blood levels in children under 2 years old

Neurological disorders can be exacerbated in an offspring that is exposed to stress prenatally. This study is aimed
to investigate the severity of febrile seizures (FS) in the offspring under 2 years old that were prenatally stressed.
In this study, 158 children below 2 years old with FS were selected. Information about convulsion including
seizure lasting, recurrence of seizure, age of the first seizure and type of FS was gathered. Blood samples were
obtained from the offspring to measure the cortisol blood levels. Questionnaire was filled in to evaluate the
perceived stress and exposure or non-exposure to major stresses during pregnancy. Results of this study showed
that both high Perceived Stress Scores (PSS) during pregnancy and exposure to major stresses during pregnancy
significantly increased seizure duration and seizure intensity. Also, the appearance of complex FS was significantly
higher in prenatally stressed children than the unexposed ones. Further, cortisol blood levels were significantly
higher in prenatally stressed subjects. It can be concluded that both higher PSS and/or exposure to major stresses
during pregnancy potentiate FS parameters and lead to long lasting increase in cortisol blood levels in the offspring