Entringer Sonja, Heim Christine
Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universtität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Psychology, Berlin, Germany.
Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, California, USA.
Neuroimmunomodulation. 2025;32(1):24-35. doi: 10.1159/000542676. Epub 2024 Nov 27.
Extensive evidence from animal and human studies indicates that exposure to stress during sensitive developmental periods significantly increases the risk for psychiatric and physical disorders, resulting in reduced longevity. Chronic immune activation has been suggested as one pathway through which early adverse experiences may become biologically embedded. This paper highlights selected key findings and questions that first emerged in the literature and founded the field and then examines how research methods and questions have evolved over time.
During the past decades, evidence from preclinical, clinical, and epidemiological studies has accumulated suggesting consequences of early life stress (ELS) exposure for immune function, particularly increased chronic inflammation or inflammatory responses. Scientific approaches to study the effects of ELS on the immune system have changed since the first studies on this topic were published.
Across different study designs, species, and methods, a consistent association between childhood adversity and a pro-inflammatory phenotype has been reported. We critically discuss which topics warrant further consideration and how current findings could be used to develop targeted interventions to prevent or reverse the biological embedding of ELS and resultant disease manifestations.
来自动物和人体研究的大量证据表明，在敏感的发育阶段暴露于应激状态会显著增加患精神疾病和身体疾病的风险，从而缩短寿命。慢性免疫激活被认为是早期不良经历可能在生物学上得以固化的一条途径。本文重点介绍了文献中首次出现并奠定该领域基础的一些关键发现和问题，然后探讨了研究方法和问题是如何随着时间的推移而演变的。
在过去几十年中，临床前、临床和流行病学研究积累的证据表明，早年生活应激（ELS）暴露会对免疫功能产生影响，特别是慢性炎症或炎症反应增加。自从首次发表关于这一主题的研究以来，研究ELS对免疫系统影响的科学方法已经发生了变化。
在不同的研究设计、物种和方法中，均有报告称童年逆境与促炎表型之间存在一致的关联。我们批判性地讨论了哪些主题值得进一步考虑，以及当前的研究结果如何用于制定有针对性的干预措施，以预防或逆转ELS的生物学固化及其导致的疾病表现。
