Surtees Paul, Wainwright Nicholas, Day Nicholas, Brayne Carol, Luben Robert, Khaw Kay-Tee
Strangeways Research Laboratory, Worts Causeway, Cambridge, CB1 8RN, UK.
Int J Behav Med. 2003;10(3):251-68. doi: 10.1207/s15327558ijbm1003_05.
Compelling evidence is now available that adverse childhood experiences are associated with adult pathology. However, understanding of the pathways and mechanisms underlying these associations is limited. Participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition in Norfolk, UK (EPIC-Norfolk), aged 40 to 80 years, provided an opportunity to investigate the hypothesis that adverse experience in childhood is associated with peripheral leukocyte count in adulthood in the context of a large-scale population-based cohort study. White blood cell counts were available from 11,367 participants and, after a mean interval of 44 months, from 11,857 at a second health check. A self-completion questionnaire that included the assessment of adverse experience during childhood was administered during the interval between health checks. Associations were observed between early adverse experiences and lymphocyte counts at both health checks. Lifestyle factors accounted for about half of this association. Caution is needed in the interpretation of these findings that require replication but they may be seen to aid understanding of the mechanisms through which early environmental exposures act.
目前已有确凿证据表明，童年不良经历与成人病理状况相关。然而，对于这些关联背后的途径和机制的理解仍然有限。英国诺福克郡欧洲癌症与营养前瞻性调查（EPIC - Norfolk）的参与者年龄在40至80岁之间，在一项大规模的基于人群的队列研究背景下，为研究童年不良经历与成年期外周血白细胞计数相关这一假设提供了机会。11367名参与者提供了白细胞计数数据，在平均间隔44个月后的第二次健康检查中，11857名参与者提供了白细胞计数数据。在两次健康检查的间隔期间，采用了一份自我填写问卷，其中包括对童年不良经历的评估。在两次健康检查中均观察到早期不良经历与淋巴细胞计数之间存在关联。生活方式因素约占这种关联的一半。在解释这些需要重复验证的发现时需要谨慎，但它们可能有助于理解早期环境暴露发挥作用的机制。
