不良和创伤性暴露、创伤后应激障碍、端粒长度与头发皮质醇——在离开寄宿照料机构的高危年轻成人样本中探索关联

Adverse and traumatic exposures, posttraumatic stress disorder, telomere length, and hair cortisol - Exploring associations in a high-risk sample of young adult residential care leavers.

作者信息

Bürgin David, Clemens Vera, Varghese Nimmy, Eckert Anne, Huber Mara, Bruttin Evelyne, Boonmann Cyril, Unternährer Eva, O'Donovan Aoife, Schmid Marc

机构信息

Research Department for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Psychiatric Hospitals Basel, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

Department for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.

出版信息

Brain Behav Immun Health. 2022 Sep 30;26:100524. doi: 10.1016/j.bbih.2022.100524. eCollection 2022 Dec.

BACKGROUND

Childhood adversities (CAs), potentially traumatic exposures (PTEs), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are known to increase the risk for poor health outcomes, including diseases of aging and early mortality. Telomere length (TL) and hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) are biomarkers known to be associated with CA and PTEs, and PTSD, but there is considerable heterogeneity in findings.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to investigate the association of CAs, PTEs, and PTSD with TL and HCC in a high-risk sample of young adults who were previously placed in youth residential care institutions throughout Switzerland.

METHOD

Our sample includes 130 participants (30.8% women, M = 26.5 ± 3.7 years) with previous youth residential care placements (M= 3.9). CAs and PTEs, as well as PTSD, were assessed with self-reported questionnaires and semi-structured clinical interviews. Immune cell TL was measured with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in whole blood. Hair samples were collected for HCC measurement and assayed with high-sensitivity ELISA. Multivariate regression models were fitted to describe the associations between CAs, PTEs, and PTSD with TL and HCC, adjusting for covariates.

RESULTS

In our high-risk sample, a higher burden of CAs, PTEs, Criterion A trauma, and PTSD was associated with longer TL. PTEs, Criterion A trauma, and PTSD were associated with lower HCC, however no significant associations between CAs and HCC were found. The magnitude of these effects varied depending on the dimensional or categorical nature of the stress-phenotype and the specific measure used.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings are in contrast with many, but not all, previous studies of associations between adversity and both TL and HCC. For instance, our findings are in line with other studies that find a state of hypocortisolism in PTSD. Better measurement of adversities and trauma, multisystem biomarker approaches, and more research in larger high-risk samples at the upper end of the adversity-continuum is warranted.

背景

童年逆境（CAs）、潜在创伤暴露（PTEs）和创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）已知会增加不良健康结局的风险，包括衰老相关疾病和过早死亡。端粒长度（TL）和头发皮质醇浓度（HCC）是已知与童年逆境、潜在创伤暴露及创伤后应激障碍相关的生物标志物，但研究结果存在相当大的异质性。

目的

本研究旨在调查童年逆境、潜在创伤暴露和创伤后应激障碍与端粒长度和头发皮质醇浓度之间的关联，研究对象为瑞士各地曾入住青少年寄宿照料机构的高风险年轻成年人样本。

方法

我们的样本包括130名参与者（30.8%为女性，平均年龄M = 26.5 ± 3.7岁），他们曾入住青少年寄宿照料机构（平均入住时长M = 3.9年）。通过自我报告问卷和半结构化临床访谈对童年逆境、潜在创伤暴露以及创伤后应激障碍进行评估。采用定量聚合酶链反应（qPCR）测量全血中的免疫细胞端粒长度。采集头发样本用于测量头发皮质醇浓度，并采用高灵敏度酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）进行检测。采用多变量回归模型描述童年逆境、潜在创伤暴露和创伤后应激障碍与端粒长度和头发皮质醇浓度之间的关联，并对协变量进行调整。