Accumulation of Major Life Events in Childhood and Adult Life and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Jolene Masters Pedersen,Eva Prescott,Rikke Lund,Gry Poulsen,Theis Lange,Naja Hulvej Rod,Ingelise Andersen,C Mary Schooling

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0138654

Jolene Masters Pedersen, Eva Prescott + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0138654

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Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Sep 22, 2015
Citations: 12	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Copenhagen, Bispebjerg Hospital

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of the study was to estimate the effect of the accumulation of major life events (MLE) in childhood and adulthood, in both the private and working domains, on risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Furthermore, we aimed to test the possible interaction between childhood and adult MLE and to investigate modification of these associations by educational attainment.MethodsThe study was based on 4,761 participants from the Copenhagen City Heart Study free of diabetes at baseline and followed for 10 years. MLE were categorized as 0, 1, 2, 3 or more events. Multivariate logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, education and family history of diabetes were used to estimate the association between MLE and T2DM.ResultsIn childhood, experiencing 3 or more MLE was associated with a 69% higher risk of developing T2DM (Odds Ratio (OR) 1.69; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.60, 3.27). The accumulation of MLE in adult private (p-trend = 0.016) and work life (p-trend = 0.049) was associated with risk of T2DM in a dose response manner. There was no evidence that experiencing MLE in both childhood and adult life was more strongly associated with T2DM than experiencing events at only one time point. There was some evidence that being simultaneously exposed to childhood MLE and short education (OR 2.28; 95% C.I. 1.45, 3.59) and work MLE and short education (OR 2.86; 95% C.I. 1.62, 5.03) was associated with higher risk of T2DM, as the joint effects were greater than the sum of their individual effects.ConclusionsFindings from this study suggest that the accumulation of MLE in childhood, private adult life and work life, respectively, are risk factors for developing T2DM.

Highlights

Experiencing major life events (MLE), such as divorce or bereavement, is relatively common during a normal life course and many MLE have stressful effects [1,2,3,4]
In childhood, experiencing 3 or more MLE was associated with a 69% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (Odds Ratio (OR) 1.69; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.60, 3.27)
There was some evidence that being simultaneously exposed to childhood MLE and short education and work MLE and short education was associated with higher risk of T2DM, as the joint effects were greater than the sum of their individual effects

Summary

Introduction

Experiencing major life events (MLE), such as divorce or bereavement, is relatively common during a normal life course and many MLE have stressful effects [1,2,3,4]. A growing body of evidence suggests that stress is an independent risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)[5], and biological evidence shows that both acute and prolonged stressors can result in a disrupted central regulatory system which is associated with visceral obesity and insulin resistance [6,7]. Previous studies addressing the effects of MLE on T2DM have been mixed, depending on the nature and timing of the MLE experienced. The aim of the study was to estimate the effect of the accumulation of major life events (MLE) in childhood and adulthood, in both the private and working domains, on risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We aimed to test the possible interaction between childhood and adult MLE and to investigate modification of these associations by educational attainment

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