Association of Amelogenin with High Caries Experience in Indian Children

Saliva self-collection at home and during clinical procedures yielded cortisol data from 326 children, revealing genetic variants in stress-response pathways that may identify paediatric patients at risk of adverse reactions to painful procedures, supporting tailored interventions in decentralised settings.

Genetic Variants and the Cortisol Response in Children: An Exploratory Study — Ersig et al., Biological research for nursing (paywalled) · source ↗

• saliva
• self-collection
• pediatric
• cortisol
• genotyping

This study used home self-collected saliva samples to successfully monitor cytokines and cortisol in mothers and infants, finding that a community singing intervention significantly reduced salivary interleukin-6 levels in mothers with postnatal depression.

Community singing intervention reduces maternal salivary cytokines and enhances maternal-infant cortisol synchrony in postnatal depression: biological findings from the SHAPER-PND trial — Kirkpatrick et al., Brain, behavior, and immunity (paywalled) · source ↗

• dct
• cortisol
• self-collection
• pediatric
• hormones
• liquid
• saliva
• biomarkers

This study demonstrated that a fully remote genome sequencing study using self-collected dried blood spots and buccal swabs is feasible for individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome, with all participants completing the study and reporting the process was easy despite being lengthy. The design successfully returned actionable genetic findings, including those related to blood clot formation, to participants.

Study design with responsible return of results for a fully remote genome sequencing study in individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome — Vrana-Diaz et al., Genetics in medicine open · source ↗

• blood
• saliva
• dried
• dbs
• self-collection
• acceptability
• dct
• genotyping

In a one-week virtual home clinic with 134 participants, 86 per cent returned saliva and 84 per cent returned stool, and most components were feasible and acceptable despite device and logistical challenges. This supports decentralised, patient-centric self-collection of non-blood biospecimens for research.

Collecting at-Home Biometric Measures for Longitudinal Research From the i3C: Feasibility and Acceptability Study — Russell et al., JMIR human factors · source ↗

• dct
• acceptability
• self-collection
• microbiome
• stool
• saliva
• genotyping

Higher lifetime trauma exposure in adolescent mothers was associated with higher evening salivary cortisol, and maternal trauma during pregnancy was associated with higher bedtime cortisol in infants, suggesting that self-collected saliva can capture diurnal cortisol patterns relevant to trauma research and decentralised sampling.

A Preliminary Investigation of Associations Between Traumatic Events Experienced During Pregnancy and Salivary Diurnal Cortisol Levels of Brazilian Adolescent Mothers and Infants — Wiley et al., American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council (paywalled) · source ↗

• saliva
• self-collection
• pediatric
• hormones
• cortisol