Bürgin David, Clemens Vera, Varghese Nimmy, Eckert Anne, Huber Mara, Bruttin Evelyne, Boonmann Cyril, Unternährer Eva, O'Donovan Aoife, Schmid Marc
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.
Brain Behav Immun Health. 2022 Sep 30;26:100524. doi: 10.1016/j.bbih.2022.100524. eCollection 2022 Dec.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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。
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。
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。
在我们的高风险样本中，童年逆境、潜在创伤暴露、A类创伤和创伤后应激障碍的负担越重，端粒长度越长。潜在创伤暴露、A类创伤和创伤后应激障碍与较低的头发皮质醇浓度相关，但未发现童年逆境与头发皮质醇浓度之间存在显著关联。这些效应的大小因应激表型的维度或类别性质以及所使用的具体测量方法而异。
我们的研究结果与之前许多（但并非全部）关于逆境与端粒长度和头发皮质醇浓度之间关联的研究结果相反。例如，我们的研究结果与其他发现创伤后应激障碍患者存在低皮质醇血症状态的研究一致。有必要更好地测量逆境和创伤，采用多系统生物标志物方法，并在逆境连续体高端的更大高风险样本中开展更多研究。
