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Pain-Associated Stressor Exposure and Cortisol Values at 37 Postmenstrual Weeks for Premature Infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Annie J. Rohan Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy under Executive Committee of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2013 © 2013 Annie Jill Rohan All rights reserved ABSTRACT Pain-Associated Stressor Exposure and Cortisol Values at 37 Postmenstrual Weeks for Premature Infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Annie J. Rohan Background: Ongoing stress has costs in brain and body adaptations. Recurrent and prolonged stress taxes the adaptive capacity of the premature infant and has been postulated as a risk factor for the development of later disease (Sullivan, Hawes, Winchester, & Miller, 2008). Cortisol appears to be an important mediator in the relationship between prolonged stress and subsequent disease and disability. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) stress may give rise to early recognizable patterns of adrenal axis adaptation in prematurely born infants. These adaptations may underlie difficulties in learning and development for a population of children that already bears a high burden of disease. Premature infants who spend their first weeks of life in the NICU have been shown to have altered glucocorticoid values at approximately one year of age (Grunau et al., 2007; Grunau, Weinberg, & Whitfield, 2004; Haley, Weinberg, & Grunau, 2006). It is hypothesized that adaptations of the adrenal axis may begin to emerge even earlier - during NICU hospitalization - and in relation to recurrent pain-associated procedural exposure or the prolonged stress of assisted ventilation. Objective: The primary purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between random cortisol values at 37 postmenstrual weeks of age and pain-associated stressor exposure in prematurely born infants who received extended care in the NICU. Because random cortisol values in premature infants have been shown to be relatively dissociated from clinical conditions, this research also explored the relationship between values of the cortisol precursor, 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), and pain-associated stressor exposure in prematurely born infants. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional design was used to examine relationships between two major types of pain-associated stressor exposures - number of recurrent skin-breaking procedures and hours of assisted ventilation - and random serum cortisol and 17-OHP values at 37 postmenstrual weeks of age. Subjects were 59 infants born at under 35 completed weeks of gestation, who were at least two weeks of age, and who had been cared for in in the NICU since birth. Infants with intrauterine growth restriction, major anomalies, or exposure to postnatal steroids or surgery were excluded. Results: During this study, the 59 prematurely born infants were collectively exposed to over 3350 pain-associated procedures and over 17,000 hours of assisted ventilation. The greatest number of individual pain-associated exposures was 238, and no infant was exposed to less than 20 procedures (mean = 57). Over half of these exposures were in the first week after birth. There was a significant negative correlation (Spearman rank, one- tailed) between recurrent pain-associated stressor exposure in premature infants and their values of 17-OHP at 37 postmenstrual weeks of age (r= -0.232, p=0.039). A trend was also identified for differences in 17-OHP values between infants who had the highest and lowest recurrent pain-associated stressor exposure (U=68.5, p=0.068). No significant relationships were identified between cortisol values and any of the study variables. Due to multicollinearity, it was not possible to examine the independent effects of recurrent pain-associated stressor exposure, gestational age, chronological age or hours of ventilation on 17-OHP values. One-tailed correlation analyses, however, failed to identify any significant relationships between the collinear variables or birthweight and 17-OHP values. Conclusions: Premature infants are exposed to a high number of recurrent skin-breaking procedures while receiving care in the NICU, especially during their first week of age. There is a statistically significant relationship between the incidence of these recurrent pain-associated procedures and an aspect of the adrenocorticoid profile at 37 postmenstrual weeks of age. Recurrent pain-associated stressor exposure may be a more important factor in explaining the variance of 17-OHP values at 37 postmenstrual weeks of age than birthweight, gestational age, chronological age or hours of assisted ventilation. Table of Contents List of Tables iv List of Figures vii Acknowledgements ix Dedication xi CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1 Problem Statement 4 Research Purpose and Study Objectives 5 Research Question, Specific Aims and Hypotheses 6 Conceptual Framework 7 Assumptions 8 Significance 9 CHAPTER 2: Review of the Literature 11 Overview of Neurologic Development and the Infant HPA System 11 Stress and Pain in Infancy 28 Perinatal Events, Stress Adaptation and Developmental Sequelae 38 Pain-Associated NICU Stress and the Adrenocorticoid Phenotype 43 Overall Summary 49 CHAPTER 3: Methods 51 Overview 51 i Operational Definitions 51 Setting 53 Subjects 53 Procedures 55 Measures 62 Summary of Variables 68 Data Management and Analysis Plan 70 Protection of Human Subjects 73 CHAPTER 4: Results 76 Description of Sample 76 Inter-rater Reliability Testing 87 Stressor Variables 89 Glucocorticoid Variables 98 Correlation Analyses 103 Hypothesis Testing 115 Exploratory Analyses 119 CHAPTER 5: Discussion 130 Introduction 130 Cortisol and 17-OHP Values 132 Recurrent Exposure to Pain-Associated Procedures 136 Recent Pain-Associated Procedures 138 Days of Age to Attain Birthweight 139 ii Male/Female Differences 139 Multicollinearity 141 Relationship between Study Variables and Adrenocorticoid Values 142 Recruitment and Sampling Issues 145 Study Strengths 146 Challenges and Limitations 147 Implications for Practice 150 Implications for Research 151 Conclusions 153 References 155 Appendices A. Data Collection Form 179 B. Nursing Standards of Care Document 182 C. Columbia University IRB Approval 184 D. Stony Brook University IRB Approval 185 E. Research Permission Form 187 iii List of Tables Table 3.1. Operational Definitions 52 Table 3.2. Summary of Study Variables 69 Table 4.1. Demographic Characteristics of Study Sample 80 Table 4.2. Breakdown of Subjects by Gestational Age and Distribution of Twins 81 Table 4.3. Distribution Descriptors for Independent Variables 83 Table 4.4. Characteristics of Recurrent Pain-Associated Procedures 90 Table 4.5. Recurrent Stressor Exposure in First Week of Age 91 Table 4.6. Characteristics of Hours of Assisted Ventilation Exposure 92 Table 4.7. Assisted Ventilation Exposure in First Week of Age 92 Table 4.8. Distribution Descriptors for Stressor Variables 95 Table 4.9. Bivariate Analyses Testing for Differences in Recurrent Procedural Exposure 97 Table 4.10. Bivariate Analyses Testing for Differences in Assisted Ventilation Exposure 98 Table 4.11. Characteristics of Cortisol and 17-OHP at 37 Postmenstrual Weeks of Age 99 Table 4.12. Characteristics of Cortisol and 17-OHP: Gestational Age Subgroups 100 Table 4.13. Distribution Descriptors for Cortisol and 17-OHP 100 Table 4.14. Bivariate Analyses Testing for Differences in Cortisol Values 102 iv Table 4.15. Bivariate Analyses Testing for Differences in 17-OHP Values 103 Table 4.16. Identification of Collinearity 114 Table 4.17. Hypothesis Testing: Correlations between Stressor Variables and Cortisol 116 Table 4.18. Correlations between Ventilation Variables and Cortisol 117 Table 4.19. Hypothesis Testing: Correlations between Stressor Variables and 17-OHP 118 Table 4.20. Correlations between Ventilation Variables and 17-OHP 118 Table 4.21. Summary of Simple Linear Regression Model for 17-OHP 120 Table 4.22. Summary of Multiple Linear Regression Model for 17-OHP 121 Table 4.23. Correlations between 17-OHP and Collinear Independent Variables 122 Table 4.24. Bivariate Analyses Testing for Differences in Glucocorticoid Values after Recent Pain-Associated Procedures 123 Table 4.25 Bivariate Analyses Testing for Differences in Weight between Male and Female Infants 124 Table 4.26 Bivariate Analyses Exploring Days to Attain Birthweight and Exposure to Stressors 125 Table 4.27. Bivariate Analyses Testing for Differences in Glucocorticoid Values between Infants who Attain Birthweight Earlier and Later 126 Table 4.28. Bivariate Analyses Testing for Differences in Cortisol Values between Infants with Extremes of Stress Exposure 127 Table 4.29. Bivariate Analyses Testing for Differences in 17-OHP Values between Infants with Extremes in Stress Exposure 128 v Table 4.30. Bivariate Analyses Testing for Differences in Glucocorticoid Values between Larger-Born and Smaller-Born Twins 129 Table 5.1. Characteristics of Cortisol (ug/dl) at 37 Postmenstrual Weeks of Age: Comparisons with Other Researchers 134 Table 5.2. Characteristics of 17-OHP (ng/dl) at 37 Postmenstrual Weeks of Age: Comparisons with Other Researchers 135 vi List of Figures Figure 1.1. The Life Cycle Model of Stress 8 Figure 3.1. Flow Chart of Research Procedures 59 Figure 4.1. Flow Diagram of Recruitment and Inclusion 78 Figure 4.2. Distribution of Gestational Age at Birth 83 Figure 4.3. Distribution of Birthweight 84 Figure 4.4. Distribution of Days of Age to Attain Birthweight 84 Figure 4.5. Distribution