Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 222 Richmond St., Providence, RI 02903, USA; Bradley/Hasbro Children's Research Center, E.P. Bradley Hospital, 1 Hoppin St., Providence, RI 02903, USA.
Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, 219 Moore, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Clinical Child Psychology Program, University of Kansas, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2021 Jun;128:105222. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105222. Epub 2021 Apr 18.
Systemic inflammation links exposure to early childhood adversity to later disease. The associations among adversity and disease risk might in part operate through poor oral hygiene and subsequent periodontal inflammation, which can be measured in saliva. Few studies, however, have examined the association between adversity and salivary inflammation in young children. Further, there is a dearth of literature investigating adverse experiences and salivary inflammation in children and caregivers together, limiting our understanding of the intergenerational, dual effects of adversity on inflammation for both members of the caregiver-child dyad. This study tested child and caregiver adversity and their associations with an inflammatory composite (i.e., IL-6, IL-1β, IL-8, TNF-α) and CRP in 93 preschool-age children and their caregivers. Caregivers reported on their child's experiences of adversity, as well as on their own adverse experiences, using a comprehensive questionnaire synthesized from previous checklists for complete coverage of possible adverse events. Results showed that caregivers' salivary inflammatory markers (i.e., IL-6, IL-1β, IL-8, TNF-α, and CRP) were not significantly correlated with the same five inflammatory markers in children's saliva. Among children, adversity was associated with significantly higher levels of the inflammatory composite, though not CRP. This association was amplified among children whose caregivers also experienced more adversity during adulthood. Among caregivers, childhood adversity and adulthood adversity were each independently associated with significantly higher levels of the inflammatory composite and CRP. The association between caregivers' own childhood adversity and inflammation was amplified among caregivers whose children also experienced more adversity during their childhoods. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the possible dual role of young children's and caregivers' adverse experiences in contributing to salivary inflammation for both members of the dyad, suggesting possible implications for systemic inflammation and future disease.
系统性炎症将儿童早期逆境与后期疾病联系起来。逆境与疾病风险之间的关联可能部分是通过不良的口腔卫生和随后的牙周炎症来运作的，而牙周炎症可以通过唾液来测量。然而，很少有研究检查逆境与幼儿唾液炎症之间的关联。此外，关于儿童和照顾者一起经历的不良经历和唾液炎症的文献也很少，这限制了我们对逆境对照顾者-儿童对炎症的代际、双重影响的理解。本研究测试了儿童和照顾者的逆境及其与炎症综合指标（即 IL-6、IL-1β、IL-8、TNF-α）和 CRP 的关联，研究对象为 93 名学龄前儿童及其照顾者。照顾者使用综合问卷报告了他们孩子的逆境经历，以及他们自己的逆境经历，该问卷综合了以前的清单，以全面涵盖可能的不良事件。结果表明，照顾者的唾液炎症标志物（即 IL-6、IL-1β、IL-8、TNF-α 和 CRP）与儿童唾液中的相同五个炎症标志物没有显著相关性。在儿童中，逆境与炎症综合指标显著升高有关，但 CRP 无关。在照顾者在成年期也经历更多逆境的儿童中，这种关联更为明显。在照顾者中，儿童期逆境和成年期逆境都与炎症综合指标和 CRP 的水平显著升高有关。照顾者自己的儿童期逆境与炎症之间的关联在照顾者的孩子在童年时期也经历更多逆境的情况下更为明显。这些发现为儿童和照顾者的逆境经历可能对双方面的唾液炎症都有双重作用提供了初步证据，这表明这可能对系统性炎症和未来疾病有影响。
