Modern Pediatrics. Ukraine. (2026).2(154): 105-110. doi: 10.15574/SP.2026.2(154).105110
Grechanin Ya. R.¹, Kupriychuk Y. N.²
¹Kharkiv National Medical University, Ukraine
²MNPE of Kharkiv Regional Council "Interregional Specialized Medical and Genetic Center for Rare (Orphan) Diseases", Ukraine

For citation: Grechanin YaR, Kupriychuk YN. (2026). Neurotransmitter metabolites and clinical manifestations of neuropsychiatric developmental disorders in children under conditions of chronic social stress. Modern Pediatrics. Ukraine. 2(154): 105-110. doi: 10.15574/SP.2026.2(154).105110.
Article received: Dec 07, 2025. Accepted for publication: Mar 16, 2026.

Chronic social stress in childhood is associated with disruption of the body's adaptive mechanisms and the development of neuropsychiatric developmental disorders. Analysis of neurotransmitter metabolites enables assessment of the functional state of stress-response systems.
Aim – to investigate associations between neurotransmitter metabolite levels and clinical manifestations of neuropsychiatric developmental disorders in children under conditions of chronic social stress.
Materials and methods. The study included 186 children aged 1-8 years. The main group consisted of 80 children who permanently lived in the city of Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region and were exposed to a high intensity of military influence and chronic social stress. The comparison group included 65 children from regions with lower intensity of military influence and a relatively stable social and everyday environment. The control group consisted of 41 children examined in the pre-war period. The levels of vanillylmandelic acid (VMA), homovanillic acid (HVA), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in the morning urine samples were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
Results. Children exposed to chronic social stress demonstrated a statistically significant increase in the frequency of altered VMA, HVA, and 5-HIAA levels compared to the comparison and control groups. These alterations were associated with speech development delay, emotional lability, sleep disturbances, behavioral abnormalities, and manifestations of autonomic dysfunction. The most pronounced changes were observed in the older age subgroup, correlating with longer duration of psychoemotional stress exposure.
Conclusions. Alterations in neurotransmitter metabolites in children under chronic social stress reflect impaired neurometabolic adaptation and may serve as potential laboratory biomarkers of neuropsychiatric developmental disorders. Urinary determination of VMA, HVA, and 5-HIAA represents a promising non-invasive approach for evaluating the functional status of stress-response systems in the pediatric population.
The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The research protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the institution specified in the study. Informed parental consent was obtained for participation in the study.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Keywords: chronic social stress; children; neuropsychiatric developmental disorders; neurotransmitter metabolites; vanillylmandelic acid; homovanillic acid, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid.

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