Mental Health Center and Psychiatric Laboratory, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
BMC Psychiatry. 2024 Nov 6;24(1):773. doi: 10.1186/s12888-024-06226-9.
Neurocognitive impairment is one of the prominent manifestations of major depressive disorder (MDD). Childhood trauma enhances vulnerability to developing MDD and contributes to neurocognitive dysfunctions. However, the distinct impacts of different types of childhood trauma on neurocognitive processes in MDD remain unclear.
This study comprised 186 individuals diagnosed with MDD and 268 healthy controls. Childhood trauma was evaluated using the 28-item Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form. Neurocognitive abilities, encompassing sustained attention, vigilance, visual memory, and executive functioning, were measured by the Cambridge Neuropsychological Testing Automated Battery.
Multivariable linear regressions revealed that childhood trauma and MDD diagnosis were independently associated with neurocognitive impairment. Physical neglect was associated with impaired visual memory and working memory. MDD diagnosis is associated with working memory and planning. Interactive analysis revealed that physical/sexual abuse was associated with a high level of vigilance and that emotional neglect was linked with better performance on cognitive flexibility in MDD patients. Furthermore, childhood emotional abuse, physical abuse, and emotional neglect were revealed to be risk factors for developing early-onset, chronic depressive episodes.
Thus, specific associations between various childhood traumas and cognitive development in depression are complex phenomena that need further study.
神经认知障碍是重性抑郁障碍（MDD）的突出表现之一。童年创伤会增加患 MDD 的易感性，并导致神经认知功能障碍。然而，不同类型的童年创伤对 MDD 患者神经认知过程的不同影响仍不清楚。
本研究纳入了 186 名 MDD 患者和 268 名健康对照者。采用 28 项儿童期创伤问卷-短式版评估童年创伤。采用剑桥神经心理测试自动化电池评估包括持续注意力、警觉性、视觉记忆和执行功能在内的神经认知能力。
多变量线性回归显示，童年创伤和 MDD 诊断与神经认知障碍独立相关。躯体忽视与视觉记忆和工作记忆受损有关。MDD 诊断与工作记忆和计划能力有关。交互分析显示，躯体/性虐待与警觉性水平较高有关，而情感忽视与 MDD 患者认知灵活性表现较好有关。此外，童年期情感虐待、躯体虐待和情感忽视被发现是早发性、慢性抑郁发作的危险因素。
因此，各种童年创伤与抑郁患者认知发展之间的特定关联是复杂的现象，需要进一步研究。
