NORMENT K.G Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, and Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Department of Neurology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Transl Psychiatry. 2019 Mar 21;9(1):97. doi: 10.1038/s41398-019-0432-7.
Reduced telomere length (TL) and structural brain abnormalities have been reported in patients with schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD). Childhood traumatic events are more frequent in SZ and BD than in healthy individuals (HC), and based on recent findings in healthy individuals could represent one important factor for TL and brain aberrations in patients. The study comprised 1024 individuals (SZ [n = 373]; BD [n = 249] and HC [n = 402]). TL was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and childhood trauma was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Diagnosis was obtained by the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID) for the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders-IV (DSM-IV). FreeSurfer was used to obtain regional and global brain volumes from T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans. All analyses were adjusted for current age and sex. Patients had on average shorter TL (F = 7.87, p = 0.005, Cohen's d = 0.17) and reported more childhood trauma experiences than HC (χ = 148.9, p < 0.001). Patients with a history of childhood sexual, physical or emotional abuse had shorter TL relative to HC and to patients without a history of childhood abuse (F = 6.93, p = 0.006, Cohen's d = 0.16). After adjusting for childhood abuse, no difference in TL was observed between patients and HC (p = 0.12). There was no statistically significant difference in reported childhood abuse exposure or TL between SZ and BD. Our analyses revealed no significant associations between TL and clinical characteristics or brain morphometry. We demonstrate shorter TL in SZ and BD compared with HC and showed that TL is sensitive to childhood trauma experiences. Further studies are needed to identify the biological mechanisms of this relationship.
端粒长度（TL）缩短和结构性脑异常已在精神分裂症（SZ）和双相情感障碍（BD）患者中报道。与健康个体（HC）相比，SZ 和 BD 患者经历过更多的童年创伤事件，并且根据最近在健康个体中的发现，这些事件可能是 TL 和患者大脑异常的一个重要因素。该研究包括 1024 名个体（SZ [n=373]；BD [n=249]和 HC [n=402]）。TL 通过定量聚合酶链反应（qPCR）进行测量，童年创伤使用童年创伤问卷（CTQ）进行评估。通过精神障碍诊断和统计手册-IV（DSM-IV）的结构临床访谈（SCID）获得诊断。使用 FreeSurfer 从 T1 加权磁共振成像（MRI）脑扫描中获得区域和整体脑容量。所有分析均根据当前年龄和性别进行调整。患者的 TL 平均较短（F=7.87，p=0.005，Cohen's d=0.17），并且报告的童年创伤经历多于 HC（χ=148.9，p<0.001）。与 HC 和没有童年虐待史的患者相比，有童年性虐待、身体或情感虐待史的患者 TL 更短（F=6.93，p=0.006，Cohen's d=0.16）。在校正童年虐待后，患者和 HC 之间的 TL 无差异（p=0.12）。SZ 和 BD 患者之间报告的童年虐待暴露或 TL 无统计学差异。我们的分析未发现 TL 与临床特征或脑形态计量学之间存在显著关联。我们表明，与 HC 相比，SZ 和 BD 患者的 TL 更短，并表明 TL 对童年创伤经历敏感。需要进一步的研究来确定这种关系的生物学机制。
