Abstract
BackgroundExperiencing maltreatment during childhood exerts substantial stress on the child and increases the risk for overweight and obesity later in life. The current study tests whether hair cortisol—a measure of chronic stress—and its metabolite cortisone mediate the relation between abuse and neglect on the one hand, and body mass index (BMI) on the other.MethodThe sample consisted of 249 participants aged 8 to 87 years (M = 36.13, SD = 19.33). We collected data on child abuse and neglect using questionnaires, measured cortisol and cortisone concentrations in hair, and BMI. In a structural model, the effects of abuse and neglect on hair cortisol, hair cortisone, and BMI were tested, as well as the covariance between hair cortisol and BMI, and hair cortisone and BMI.ResultsWithin the sample, 23% were overweight but not obese and 14% were obese. Higher levels of experienced abuse were related to higher cortisone concentrations in hair (β = 0.24, p < .001) and higher BMI (β = 0.17, p =.04). Neglect was not related to hair cortisol, hair cortisone, or BMI. Hair cortisol and cortisone did not mediate the association between maltreatment, and BMI. Sensitivity analyses demonstrate the same pattern of results in a subsample of adult participants currently not living with their parents. However, in younger participants who were still living with their parents, the associations between abuse and cortisone (β = 0.14, p =.35) and abuse and BMI (β = 0.02, p =.92) were no longer significant.ConclusionThese findings confirm that experiencing abuse is related to higher BMI but suggest that hair cortisol and cortisone are not the mechanism underlying the association between child maltreatment and BMI. This is the first study to show abuse may be associated to elevated concentrations of hair cortisone—evidence of long-term alterations in chronic stress levels. Future research may benefit from exploring the effects of maltreatment on weight gain in longitudinal designs, including measures of other potential mediators such as eating as a coping mechanism, and more direct indicators of metabolic health.
Highlights
Abuse and neglect are adverse childhood experiences that exert substantial stress on the child, and violate expectations of a safe and stable environment [1, 2]
Abuse was correlated to cortisol, cortisone, and body mass index (BMI)-z (p < .05) whereas neglect was only related to cortisone (p < .05)
The current study found that experienced abuse was related to elevated levels of hair cortisone and higher BMI
Summary
Abuse and neglect are adverse childhood experiences that exert substantial stress on the child, and violate expectations of a safe and stable environment [1, 2]. Experiencing abuse or neglect during childhood increases the risk for a number of negative mental [3,4,5] and physical health outcomes [6,7,8]—among them an increased risk for overweight and obesity later in life [9,10,11]. The current study tests the mediational role of hair cortisol (and its metabolite cortisone) in the association between abuse and neglect on the one hand, and BMI on the other hand. Experiencing maltreatment during childhood exerts substantial stress on the child and increases the risk for overweight and obesity later in life. The current study tests whether hair cortisol—a measure of chronic stress—and its metabolite cortisone mediate the relation between abuse and neglect on the one hand, and body mass index (BMI) on the other
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