The impact of childhood maltreatment on telomere length in cocaine use disorder

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Several studies suggest that child maltreatment (CM) is a risk factor for a wide range of adverse biological and psychological outcomes, such as cocaine use disorder (CUD). CM and CUD are independently associated with altered telomere length (TL), but the mechanisms that underpin this relationship remain unknown. The aim of this study was to examine TL changes in cocaine-addicted individuals with and without CM. Methods This study comprised 29 cocaine-addicted individuals with a DSM-5 diagnosis of CUD and 29 healthy controls. All subjects completed questionnaires to evaluate the presence of CM (CTQ-SF) and their perceived parental care quality (PBI). Based on the responses, the CUD sample was divided into subgroups, while the control group was selected based on the absence of CM. Blood was collected from all participants, DNA was extracted, and TL was measured using quantitative real-time PCR. Results CUD patients with a history of CM had the shortest TL among subgroups. Further, we observed a linear relationship between “paternal care” levels experienced in childhood and TL. Conclusion These results support the association between telomere shortening with CM and drug addiction and suggest that greater parental care is a protective factor against stressors that affect TL.