Question

2. (FPS-PE/2014)
Depression in pregnancy may affect children’s mental health, study finds
Research suggests that levels of stress hormone cortisol, which are raised in depression, can influence development of foetus
By Sarah Boseley, health editor
Experts called for more help for women who are depressed in pregnancy, saying the study confirmed that the development of people’s mental health begins before birth. Photograph: Katie Collins/PA
The children of women who are depressed during their pregnancy may be more likely to succumb to depression themselves by the age of 18, according to new research. A large study from Bristol University, published in a leading medical journal, suggests that levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which are raised in depression, may affect the development of the foetus in the womb.
Experts called for more help for women who are depressed in pregnancy, saying the study confirmed that the development of people’s mental health begins before birth. “The message is clear: helping women who are depressed in pregnancy will not only alleviate their suffering but also the suffering of the next generation,” said Carmine Pariante, professor of biological psychiatry at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry.
The study also showed that postnatal depression in the mother was a risk factor for children’s depression in late adolescence, but only in mothers with low educational attainment. The study is published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) Psychiatry. It was carried out by Rebecca Pearson, research epidemiologist at Bristol University’s school of social community medicine, and colleagues, who studied data on the mental health of more than 4,500 parents and their adolescent children involved in Alspac (Avon longitudinal study of parents and children). “The findings have important implications for the nature and timing of interventions aimed at preventing depression in the offspring of depressed mothers. In particular, the findings suggest that treating depression in pregnancy, irrespective of background, may be most effective,” the authors wrote.
Celso Arango, professor of psychiatry at the Gregorio Marañón general university hospital, Madrid, and president-elect of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP), said it was a significant study. He pointed out that the mental state of the father during the pregnancy had no effect on the long-term health of the child, which may implicate cortisol in the womb. “Researchers are only just beginning to realise that it is not psychiatrists, psychologists or neuroscientists that are having the biggest impact on preventing mental health issues – it is gynaecologists,” he said. “This is something that needs much more research as we have seen similar impacts in schizophrenia with increased risk in mothers that developed schizophrenia during the war and passed on an increased risk to their children.” In the sentence “The findings have important implications for the nature and timing of interventions aimed at preventing depression in the offspring of depressed mothers.” there are some words which end in –ing.
Mark the answer that explains the proper use of –ing ending.
If a verb comes after a determiner such as THE, the verb ends in –ing as in the findings.
a) Timing is in the present continuous tense.
b) Preventing shows that if a preposition is followed by a verb, the verb ends in –ing.
c) Only offspring is a noun ending in -ing.
d) None of the explanations are right.

Answer 1

Resposta: alternativa B "Preventing shows that if a preposition is followed by a verb, the verb ends in - ing"

Explicação: é a única que explica o uso correto da terminação - ing.