Sexual and physical abuse and depressive symptoms in the UK Biobank

Anna B Chaplin,Golam M Khandaker,Peter B Jones

doi:10.1186/s12888-021-03207-0

Abstract

BackgroundThe association between sexual and physical abuse and subsequent depression is well-established, but the associations with specific depressive symptoms and sex differences remain relatively understudied. We investigated the associations of sexual and physical abuse with depressive symptoms in men and women in a large population cohort.MethodsObservational study based on 151,396 UK Biobank participants. Exposures included self-reported experiences of childhood physical abuse and sexual abuse. Mid-life outcomes included current depressive symptoms score, individual depressive symptoms, and lifetime depression. We used logistic regression to test associations of childhood sexual/physical abuse with depressive outcomes.ResultsRecalled childhood sexual and physical abuse were both associated with current depressive symptoms score in adults. Results for individual symptoms-based analyses suggest that sexual and physical abuse are associated with all depressive symptoms, particularly suicidal behaviours. The associations between lifetime depression and sexual/physical abuse were not fully explained by current depressive symptoms score, indicating that these findings may not be fully attributable to recall bias. There was no indication of differential risk for specific depressive symptoms among men and women.ConclusionsSexual and physical abuse are robust risk factors for depression/depressive symptoms regardless of sex. Higher risk of suicidal behaviours associated with childhood sexual/physical abuse are of particular concern. Longitudinal research into sex-specific associations for individual depressive symptoms is required.

Highlights

The association between sexual and physical abuse and subsequent depression is well-established, but the associations with specific depressive symptoms and sex differences remain relatively understudied
Sensitivity analysis: association between childhood sexual/ physical abuse and adult lifetime depression To examine possible impact of recall bias, we controlled for current depressive symptoms in logistic regression models testing associations between sexual/physical abuse and lifetime depression. In this way we considered whether reported abuse was associated with later depression and whether this was altered by considering current mood i.e. depressive symptoms score
Characteristics of the sample The total sample used for analysis (N = 155,223) predominantly comprised individuals of White ethnicity (97.2%) and low deprivation (TDI mean = − 1.7; standard deviation (SD) = 2.8) (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

The association between sexual and physical abuse and subsequent depression is well-established, but the associations with specific depressive symptoms and sex differences remain relatively understudied. Sexual abuse and physical abuse are strongly associated with depression [2,3,4,5]. These types of abuse are highly prevalent [6, 7] and are associated with depression onset, suboptimal treatment response and poor prognosis [8,9,10,11,12]. Sexual abuse and physical abuse are not reported more often during a depressive episode [14]. Despite extensive literature documenting the association between childhood sexual/physical abuse with adult depression, there are relatively few studies on effects on individual depressive symptoms and potential sex differences

Objectives

Methods

Results