Understanding, predicting, and treating depression in pregnancy to improve mothers and offspring mental health outcomes
HealthHORIZON-RIAID: 101057390
EC Contribution
€89,252
Consortium Size
17 orgs
Start Year
2022
▶Summary
HappyMums is designed to improve our understanding on the biological mechanisms underlying the development of depressive symptoms in pregnancy, and the efficacy of interventions. It will interrogate a large collection of cohorts with multiple biological, medical, clinical, socio-demographic and environmental and lifestyle data to identify the most robust risk factors triggering depressive symptoms, but also moderators of the risk.By putting together unique human samples of placenta, chorionic villi and amniotic fluid, and animal models, HappyMums will improve the understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms affected by depressive symptoms in pregnancy that lead to alterations in the foetal environment, shaping offspring risk for developing negative mental outcomes. The use of three complimentary rodent models will allow to achieve a proof of causality, and the presence of an innovative fish model will elucidate the mechanisms specific to placenta by which adverse maternal conditions are transmitted to the offspring without the potentially confounding mitigating effects of compensatory postnatal maternal care. This knowledge will allow the identification of new targets for the development of novel medications, for the repurposing of existing medications or for the development of non-pharmacological interventions. HappyMums will also develop a digital platform where AI tools-based data can be collected, together with biological, clinical, medical, environmental and lifestyle data, through a mobile phone App that will be at the interface with clinicians via a dedicated dashboard. This will allow early screening of depressive symptoms, prompt diagnoses, personalized treatments, and the promotion of protective lifestyle attitudes. Overall, HappyMums will not only increase the knowledge in the field of mental disorders in pregnancy, but also improve the wellbeing of these women, providing unprecedented benefits also to the offspring and thus to society at large.
Consortium (17)
🇮🇹 UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANOIT
coordinator AARHUS UNIVERSITET
partner🇮🇹 AB.ACUS SRLIT
partner🇩🇪 CHARITE - UNIVERSITAETSMEDIZIN BERLINDE
partner🇳🇱 ERASMUS UNIVERSITAIR MEDISCH CENTRUM ROTTERDAMNL
partner🇫🇮 HELSINGIN YLIOPISTOFI
partner🇭🇷 HRVATSKO KATOLICKO SVEUCILISTEHR
partner🇬🇧 KING'S COLLEGE LONDONGB
partner🇮🇹 OSPEDALE SAN RAFFAELE SRLIT
partner🇮🇹 SOCIETA MARCE ITALIANA PER LA SALUTE MENTALE PERINATALEIT
partner🇬🇧 TOMMY'SGB
partner🇺🇸 TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORKUS
partner🇪🇸 UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONAES
partner🇨🇭 UNIVERSITAT ZURICHCH
partner🇳🇱 UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAMNL
partner🇵🇱 UNIWERSYTET SWPSPL
partner🇳🇱 WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITYNL
partnerProject Results (55)
Source: CORDIS, the EU research results database.
▶Publications (47)
Maternal prenatal depression and anxiety and steroid hormones in amniotic fluid
Tiina Seikku, Marius Lahti-Pulkkinen, Polina Girchenko, Verna Salo, Kati Heinonen, Taru Tukiainen, Ellie Phelan, Margaux Billen, Joanna P. Simpson, Rebecca M. Reynolds, Natalie Z.M. Homer, Katri Räikkönen
A father’s legacy: the sperm epigenome, preimplantation development, and paternal environment
Leonard C. Steg, Isabelle M. Mansuy
Additional file 2 of Epigenetic timing effects on child developmental outcomes: a longitudinal meta-regression of findings from the Pregnancy And Childhood Epigenetics Consortium
· 2025DOI
Neumann, Alexander; Sammallahti, Sara; Cosin-Tomas, Marta; Reese, Sarah E.; Suderman, Matthew; Alemany, Silvia; Almqvist, Catarina; Andrusaityte, Sandra; Arshad, Syed H.; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J.; Beilin, Lawrence; Breton, Carrie; Bustamante, Mariona; Czamara, Darina; Dabelea, Dana; Eng, Celeste; Eskenazi, Brenda; Fuemmeler, Bernard F.; Gilliland, Frank D.; Grazuleviciene, Regina; Håberg, Siri E.; Herberth, Gunda; Holland, Nina; Hough, Amy; Hu, Donglei; Huen, Karen; Hüls, Anke; Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Jin, Jianping; Julvez, Jordi; Koletzko, Berthold V.; Koppelman, Gerard H.; Kull, Inger; Lu, Xueling; Maitre, Léa; Mason, Dan; Melén, Erik; Merid, Simon K.; Molloy, Peter L.; Mori, Trevor A.; Mulder, Rosa H.; Page, Christian M.; Richmond, Rebecca C.; Röder, Stefan; Ross, Jason P.; Schellhas, Laura; Sebert, Sylvain; Sheppard, Dean; Snieder, Harold; Starling, Anne P.; Stein, Dan J.; Tindula, Gwen; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.; Vonk, Judith; Walton, Esther; Witonsky, Jonathan; Xu, Cheng-Jian; Yang, Ivana V.; Yousefi, Paul D.; Zar, Heather J.; Zenclussen, Ana C.; Zhang, Hongmei; Tiemeier, Henning; London, Stephanie J.; Felix, Janine F.; Cecil, Charlotte
Additional file 3 of Epigenetic timing effects on child developmental outcomes: a longitudinal meta-regression of findings from the Pregnancy And Childhood Epigenetics Consortium
· 2025DOI
Neumann, Alexander; Sammallahti, Sara; Cosin-Tomas, Marta; Reese, Sarah E.; Suderman, Matthew; Alemany, Silvia; Almqvist, Catarina; Andrusaityte, Sandra; Arshad, Syed H.; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J.; Beilin, Lawrence; Breton, Carrie; Bustamante, Mariona; Czamara, Darina; Dabelea, Dana; Eng, Celeste; Eskenazi, Brenda; Fuemmeler, Bernard F.; Gilliland, Frank D.; Grazuleviciene, Regina; Håberg, Siri E.; Herberth, Gunda; Holland, Nina; Hough, Amy; Hu, Donglei; Huen, Karen; Hüls, Anke; Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Jin, Jianping; Julvez, Jordi; Koletzko, Berthold V.; Koppelman, Gerard H.; Kull, Inger; Lu, Xueling; Maitre, Léa; Mason, Dan; Melén, Erik; Merid, Simon K.; Molloy, Peter L.; Mori, Trevor A.; Mulder, Rosa H.; Page, Christian M.; Richmond, Rebecca C.; Röder, Stefan; Ross, Jason P.; Schellhas, Laura; Sebert, Sylvain; Sheppard, Dean; Snieder, Harold; Starling, Anne P.; Stein, Dan J.; Tindula, Gwen; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.; Vonk, Judith; Walton, Esther; Witonsky, Jonathan; Xu, Cheng-Jian; Yang, Ivana V.; Yousefi, Paul D.; Zar, Heather J.; Zenclussen, Ana C.; Zhang, Hongmei; Tiemeier, Henning; London, Stephanie J.; Felix, Janine F.; Cecil, Charlotte
Conventional and new immunotherapies for immune system dysregulation in postpartum mood disorders: comparisons to immune system dysregulations in bipolar disorder, major depression, and postpartum autoimmune thyroid disease
Hemmo A. Drexhage, Veerle Bergink, Sara Poletti, Francesco Benedetti, Lauren M. Osborne
Determination of steroid reference intervals in a pregnancy population
Marius Lahti-Pulkkinen, Katri Räikkönen, Agnieszka Basiukajc, Patricia Lee, Scott G. Denham, Joanna P. Simpson, Pia Villa, Esa Hämäläinen, Hannele Laivuori, Eero Kajantie, Kati Heinonen, Polina Girchenko, Rebecca M. Reynolds, Natalie ZM Homer
Dynamics of transcriptional programs and chromatin accessibility in mouse spermatogonial cells from early postnatal to adult life
Irina Lazar-Contes, Rodrigo G Arzate-Mejia, Deepak K Tanwar, Leonard C Steg, Kerem Uzel, Olivier Ulrich Feudjio, Marion Crespo, Pierre-Luc Germain, Isabelle M Mansuy
Genome Medicine
Xiaolong Guo; Mahnoor Sulaiman; Alexander Neumann; Shijie C Zheng; Charlotte AM Cecil; Andrew E Teschendorff; Bastiaan T Heijmans
Genome Medicine
Alexander Neumann; Sara Sammallahti; Marta Cosin-Tomas; Sarah E. Reese; Matthew Suderman; Silvia Alemany; Catarina Almqvist; Sandra Andrusaityte; Syed H. Arshad; Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg; Lawrence Beilin; Carrie Breton; Mariona Bustamante; Darina Czamara; Dana Dabelea; Celeste Eng; Brenda Eskenazi; Bernard F. Fuemmeler; Frank D. Gilliland; Regina Grazuleviciene; Siri E. Håberg; Gunda Herberth; Nina Holland; Amy Hough; Donglei Hu; Karen Huen; Anke Hüls; Marjo-Riitta Jarvelin; Jianping Jin; Jordi Julvez; Berthold V. Koletzko; Gerard H. Koppelman; Inger Kull; Xueling Lu; Léa Maitre; Dan Mason; Erik Melén; Simon K. Merid; Peter L. Molloy; Trevor A. Mori; Rosa H. Mulder; Christian M. Page; Rebecca C. Richmond; Stefan Röder; Jason P. Ross; Laura Schellhas; Sylvain Sebert; Dean Sheppard; Harold Snieder; Anne P. Starling; Dan J. Stein; Gwen Tindula; Marinus H. van IJzendoorn; Judith Vonk; Esther Walton; Jonathan Witonsky; Cheng-Jian Xu; Ivana V. Yang; Paul D. Yousefi; Heather J. Zar; Ana C. Zenclussen; Hongmei Zhang; Henning Tiemeier; Stephanie J. London; Janine F. Felix; Charlotte Cecil
Inflammatory markers in pregnancy – identifying drivers in four large cohorts
Frederieke A. J. Gigase; Frederieke A. J. Gigase; Anna Suleri; Anna Suleri; Elena Isaevska; Elena Isaevska; Anna-Sophie Rommel; Myrthe G. B. M. Boekhorst; Olga Dmitrichenko; Hanan El Marroun; Hanan El Marroun; Eric A. P. Steegers; Manon H. J. Hillegers; Ryan L. Muetzel; Ryan L. Muetzel; Whitney Lieb; Charlotte A. M. Cecil; Charlotte A. M. Cecil; Charlotte A. M. Cecil; Victor J. M. Pop; Michael Breen; Veerle Bergink; Veerle Bergink; Veerle Bergink; Lot D. de Witte; Lot D. de Witte; Lot D. de Witte
Maternal psychological distress and temperament traits in children from infancy to late childhood
Marius Lahti‐Pulkkinen, Anna Lähdepuro, Jari Lahti, Polina Girchenko, Riikka Pyhälä, Rebecca M. Reynolds, Pia M. Villa, Hannele Laivuori, Eero Kajantie, Kati Heinonen, Katri Räikkönen
Molecular Psychiatry
Isabel K. Schuurmans; Rosa H. Mulder; Vilte Baltramonaityte; Alexandra Lahtinen; Fan Qiuyu; Leonardo Melo Rothmann; Marlene Staginnus; Jetro J. Tuulari; S. Alexandra Burt; Claudia Buss; Jeffrey M. Craig; Kirsten A. Donald; Johan G. Eriksson; Janine F. Felix; Tom P. Freeman; Rodrigo Grassi-Oliveira; Anke Huels; Luke W. Hyde; Scott A. Jones; Hasse Karlsson; Linnea Karlsson; Nastassja Koen; Will Lawn; Colter Mitchell; Christopher S. Monk; Michael A. Mooney; Ryan Muetzel; Joel T. Nigg; Síntia Iole Nogueira Belangero; Daniel Notterman; Yi Ying Ong; Tom O’Connor; Kieran J. O’Donnell; Pedro Mario Pan; Tiina Paunio; Peter Ryabinin; Richard Saffery; Giovanni A. Salum; Marc Seal; Tim J. Silk; Dan J. Stein; Ai Peng Tan; Ai Ling Teh; Dennis Wang; Heather Zar; Esther Walton; Charlotte A. M. Cecil
NeuroImage: Clinical
Dogukan Koc; Martin Nørgaard; Melanie Ganz; Ryan L. Muetzel; Hanan El Marroun; Henning Tiemeier; Vibe G. Frokjaer
Perinatal Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Brain Connectivity Among 9- to 15-Year-Old Offspring
Koc, Dogukan; Hermans, Adriana P.C.; Xu, Bing; Muetzel, Ryan L.; El Marroun, Hanan; Tiemeier, Henning
Understanding, predicting, and treating depression in pregnancy to improve mothers' and offspring's mental health outcomes: The HappyMums study
Biaggi, A.; Zonca, V.; Anacker, C.; Begni, V.; Benedetti, F.; Bramante, A.; Braniecka, A.; Brenna, V.; Bulgheroni, M.; Buss, C.; Cavaliere, L.; Cecil, C. A. M.; Couch, A. C.; de Barra, D.; El Marroun, H.; Entringer, S.; Grassi-Oliveira, R.; Jackowska, M.; Korosi, A.; Kwant, P. J. C.; Lahti, J.; Lekadir, K.; Mansuy, I.; Manuella, F.; Marizzoni, M.; Meyer, U.; Monk, C.; Radoš, S. Nakić; Pariante, C. M.; Pollux, B. J. A.; Priestley, K.; Räikkönen, K.; Richetto, J.; Riva, M. A.; Rothmann, L. M.; Simonetti, V.; Vai, B.; Vernon, A. C.; Žutić, M.; Cattaneo, A.
Associations of polymetabolic risk of high maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index with pregnancy complications, birth outcomes, and early childhood neurodevelopment: findings from two pregnancy cohorts
Polina Girchenko, Marius Lahti Pulkkinen, Esa Hämäläinen , Hannele Laivuori, Pia M. Villa, Eero Kajantie and Katri Räikkönen
Associations of polymetabolic risk of high maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index with pregnancy complications, birth outcomes, and early childhood neurodevelopment: findings from two pregnancy cohorts
Polina Girchenko, Marius Lahti-Pulkkinen, Esa Hämäläinen, Hannele Laivuori, Pia M. Villa, Eero Kajantie, Katri Räikkönen
Coercive mating has no impact on spatial learning, cognitive flexibility, and fecundity in female porthole livebearers (Poeciliopsis gracilis)
Tiffany R Ernst, R M H W Hogers, A Korosi , J L van Leeuwen, A Kotrschal, Bart J A Pollux
Depression and Anxiety
Vilja Seppälä; Soile Tuovinen; Marius Lahti-Pulkkinen; Polina Girchenko; Sture Andersson; Katri Räikkönen; Kati Heinonen
Early-life stress and the gut microbiome: A comprehensive population-based investigation
Mulder, Rosa H.; Kraaij, Robert; Schuurmans, Isabel K.; Frances-Cuesta, Carlos; Sanz, Yolanda; Medina-Gomez, Carolina; Duijts, Liesbeth; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Tiemeier, Henning; Jaddoe, Vincent W.V.; Felix, Janine F.; Cecil, Charlotte A.M.
Gestational epigenetic age and ADHD symptoms in childhood: a prospective, multi-cohort study
Kristina Salontaji, Kristine L. Haftorn, Faye Sanders, Christian M. Page, Esther Walton, Janine F. Felix, Mona Bekkhus, Jon Bohlin, Henning Tiemeier & Charlotte A. M. Cecil
Intrauterine Exposure to Antidepressants or Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Offspring Brain White Matter Trajectories From Late Childhood to Adolescence
Koc, D., El Marroun, H., Stricker, B. H., Muetzel, R. L., & Tiemeier, H.
Repeated independent origins of the placenta reveal convergent and divergent organ evolution within a single fish family (Poeciliidae)
Diego Safian, Marwa Ahmed, Henri van Kruistum, Andrew I. Furness, David N. Reznick, Geert F. Wiegertjes, Bart J.A. Pollux
Serial Diurnal Salivary Cortisol Profiles in 667 Pregnant Women—Association With Cardiometabolic Complications
Alicia M Schowe; Darina Czamara; Marius Lahti-Pulkkinen; Polina Girchenko; Águeda Castro-Quintas; Lourdes Fañanas; Elisabeth B Binder; Katri Räikkönen
Sex differences in DNA methylation across gestation: a large scale, cross-cohort, multi-tissue analysis
Darina Czamara; Linda Dieckmann; Marius Lahti-Pulkkinen; Cristiana Cruceanu; Wolfgang Henrich; Andreas Plagemann; Katri Räikkönen; Thorsten Braun; Elisabeth B. Binder; Jari Lahti; Sonja Entringer
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Clair A. Enthoven; Jeremy A. Labrecque; M. Elisabeth Koopman-Verhoeff; Mijke P. Lambregtse-van den Berg; Manon H.J. Hillegers; Hanan El Marroun; Pauline W. Jansen
Symposium summary: epigenetic inheritance—impact for biology and society 23–25 August 2023, Zürich, Switzerland
Steg, Leonard C; Jaspers, Ellen; Alshanbayeva, Anar; Arzate-Meija, Rodrigo G; Dimitriu, Maria A; Gapp, Katharina; Kourouma, Lola M; Uzel, Kerem; Mansuy, Isabelle M
The role of lifestyle factors in the association between early-life stress and adolescent psycho-physical health: Moderation analysis in two European birth cohorts
Defina, Serena; Woofenden, Tom; Baltramonaityte, Vilte; Tiemeier, Henning; Fairchild, Graeme; Felix, Janine F.; Cecil, Charlotte A.M.; Walton, Esther
Transgenerational effects of early life stress on the fecal microbiota in mice
Nize Otaru, Lola Kourouma, Benoit Pugin, Florentin Constancias, Christian Braegger, Isabelle M. Mansuy, Christophe Lacroix
Urban environment during pregnancy and childhood and white matter microstructure in preadolescence in two European birth cohorts
Anne-Claire Binter, Laura Granés, Elise Bannier, Montserrat de Castro, Sami Petricola, Serena Fossati, Martine Vrijheid, Cécile Chevrier g, Hanan El Marroun, Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Dave Saint-Amour, Henning Tiemeier, Mònica Guxens
Urban environment in pregnancy and postpartum depression: An individual participant data meta-analysis of 12 European birth cohorts
Tim Cadman, Katrine Strandberg-Larsen, Lucinda Calas, Malina Christiansen, Iryna Culpin, Payam Dadvand, Montserrat de Castro, Maria Foraster, Serena Fossati, Mònica Guxens, Jennifer R. Harris, Manon Hillegers, Vincent Jaddoe, Yunsung Lee, Johanna Lepeule,
A systematic review of neuroimaging epigenetic research: calling for an increased focus on development
Esther Walton, Vilte Baltramonaityte, Vince Calhoun, Bastiaan T. Heijmans, Paul M. Thompson & Charlotte A. M. Cecil
Alcohol exposure before and during pregnancy is associated with reduced fetal growth: the Safe Passage Study
Marin Pielage; Hanan El Marroun; Hein J. Odendaal; Sten P. Willemsen; Manon H. J. Hillegers; Eric A. P. Steegers; Melek Rousian
Associations between prenatal maternal stress, maternal inflammation during pregnancy, and children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms throughout childhood
Clayborne, Z. M., Zou, R., Gilman, S. E., Khandaker, G. M., Fell, D. B., Colman, I., & El Marroun, H
Cord Blood Metabolite Profiles and Their Association with Autistic Traits in Childhood
Christin S. Kaupper 1,2, Sophia M. Blaauwendraad 1,2, Charlotte A. M. Cecil 3,4,5 , Rosa H. Mulder 1,3, Romy Gaillard 1,2, Romy Goncalves 1,2, Ingo Borggraefe 6, Berthold Koletzko 7 and Vincent W. V. Jaddoe
Development and Psychopathology
Anna Lähdepuro; Marius Lahti-Pulkkinen; Polina Girchenko; Pia M. Villa; Kati Heinonen; Jari Lahti; Riikka Pyhälä; Hannele Laivuori; Eero Kajantie; Katri Räikkönen
DNA methylation at birth and lateral ventricular volume in childhood: a neuroimaging epigenetics study
Mannan Luo; Esther Walton; Alexander Neumann; Chris H. L. Thio; Janine F. Felix; Marinus H. van IJzendoorn; Irene Pappa; Charlotte A. M. Cecil
Dynamics of transcriptional programs and chromatin accessibility in mouse spermatogonial cells from early postnatal to adult life
Irina Lazar-ContesDeepak K. TanwarRodrigo G. Arzate-MejiaLeonard C. StegOlivier Ulrich FeudjioMarion CrespoPierre-Luc GermainIsabelle M. Mansuy
Environmental International
Esmée Essers, Laura Granés, Scott Delaney, Joan Ballester, Susana Santos, Sami Petricola, Tiffany C Yang, Ana Fernández-Somoano, Ainhoa Bereziartua, Ferran Ballester, Adonina Tardón, Martine Vrijheid, Aitana Lertxundi, Rosemary R.C. McEachan, Hanan El Mar
Exposure to prenatal infection and the development of internalizing and externalizing problems in children: a longitudinal population-based study
Anna Suleri, Anna-Sophie Rommel, Alexander Neumann, Mannan Luo, Manon Hillegers, Lotje de Witte, Veerle Bergink, Charlotte A. M. Cecil
Exposure to prenatal infection and the development of internalizing and externalizing problems in children: a longitudinal population‐based study
Suleri, Anna; Rommel, Anna‐Sophie; Neumann, Alexander; Luo, Mannan; Hillegers, Manon; de Witte, Lotje; Bergink, Veerle; Cecil, Charlotte A. M.
Maternal social support during and after pregnancy and child cognitive ability: examining timing effects in two cohorts
Heinonen Kati; Lähdepuro Anna; Wolford Elina; Lahti Jari; Heinonen Kati; Räikkönen Katri; Lahti-Pulkkinen Marius; Lähdepuro Anna; Wolford Elina; Lahti Jari; Heinonen Kati; Räikkönen Katri; Lahti-Pulkkinen Marius; Heinonen Kati; Lahti-Pulkkinen Marius
Microglial contribution to the pathology of neurodevelopmental disorders in humans
Matuleviciute, R; Akinluyi, ET; Muntslag, TAO; Dewing, JM; Long, KR; Vernon, AC; Tremblay, M-E; Menassa, DA
On Navigating Analytical Choices in Research on Early Life Adversity: A Commentary on Sisitsky et al. (2023)
Charlotte A. M. Cecil; Isabel K. Schuurmans
Prenatal Antidepressant Exposure and Offspring Brain Morphologic Trajectory
Koc, D., Tiemeier, H., Stricker, B. H., Muetzel, R. L., Hillegers, M., & El Marroun, H.
Remembering through the genome: the role of chromatin states in brain functions and diseases
Arzate-Mejia RG and Mansuy IM
The epigenome under pressure: On regulatory adaptation to chronic stress in the brain
Arzate-Mejia RG, Carullo N and Mansuy IM
▶Deliverables (7)
Documents, reports
Data Management Plan
Documents, reports
Documents, reports
Documents, reports
Websites, patent fillings, videos etc.
Documents, reports
▶Other Results (1)
Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HappyMums (Understanding, predicting, and treating depression in pregnancy to improvemothers and offspring mental health outcomes)