Freeman James, Salberg Sabrina, Noel Melanie, Mychasiuk Richelle
Department of Neuroscience, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Transl Psychiatry. 2025 Feb 5;15(1):42. doi: 10.1038/s41398-025-03267-w.
Chronic pain is a public health problem that significantly reduces quality of life. Although the aetiology is often unknown, recent evidence suggests that susceptibility can be transmitted intergenerationally, from parent to child. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychological disorder, often associated with chronic pain, that has high prevalence rates in military personnel and Veterans. Therefore, we aimed to characterise the epigenetic mechanisms by which paternal trauma, such as PTSD, is transmitted across generations to confer risk in the next generation, specifically focusing on Veterans where possible. Numerous overlapping neurological pathways are implicated in both PTSD and chronic pain; many of which are susceptible to epigenetic modification, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and RNA regulation. Hence, epigenetic changes related to pain perception, inflammation, and neurotransmission may influence an individual's predisposition to chronic pain conditions. We also examine the effects of PTSD on parenting behaviours and discuss how these variations could impact the development of chronic pain in children. We highlight the need for further research regarding the interactions between paternal trauma and epigenetic processes to ultimately generate effective prevention and therapeutic strategies for Veterans who have been affected by PTSD and chronic pain.
慢性疼痛是一个严重降低生活质量的公共卫生问题。尽管其病因通常不明，但最近的证据表明，易感性可以从父母代际传递给子代。创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）是一种使人衰弱的心理障碍，常与慢性疼痛相关，在军人和退伍军人中患病率很高。因此，我们旨在描述父系创伤（如PTSD）跨代传递从而使下一代面临风险的表观遗传机制，尽可能特别关注退伍军人。PTSD和慢性疼痛涉及许多重叠的神经通路；其中许多通路易受表观遗传修饰的影响，如DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰和RNA调控。因此，与疼痛感知、炎症和神经传递相关的表观遗传变化可能会影响个体对慢性疼痛状况的易感性。我们还研究了PTSD对养育行为的影响，并讨论这些变化如何影响儿童慢性疼痛的发展。我们强调需要进一步研究父系创伤与表观遗传过程之间的相互作用，以便最终为受PTSD和慢性疼痛影响的退伍军人制定有效的预防和治疗策略。
