Severity Of Early Life Stress Research Articles

The impact of the severity of early life stress on diurnal cortisol: The role of puberty

Researchers have documented dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in children and adolescents who experienced early life stress (ELS). The precise nature of this dysregulation, however, has been difficult to discern. In fact, both elevated and blunted patterns of diurnal cortisol regulation have been reported in children and adolescents exposed to greater ELS, including both reduced and heightened cortisol levels and change in cortisol across the day. These divergent findings may be due to developmental changes in the relation between ELS and HPA-axis functioning. The present study was designed to examine the role of puberty in the impact of the severity of ELS on the regulation of diurnal cortisol. Boys and girls (N=145) ages 9–13 years recruited from lower-risk communities completed an interview about their ELS experiences and at-home collection of diurnal cortisol. ELS experiences were objectively coded for severity, and children’s level of pubertal development was measured using Tanner Staging. Multi-level piecewise mixed-effects models tested the effects of ELS severity and pubertal stage on cortisol levels at waking, the cortisol awakening response (CAR), and the daytime cortisol slope. While we found no significant interactive effects of pubertal stage and ELS severity on cortisol levels at waking or the daytime cortisol slope, findings indicated that pubertal stage interacted with ELS severity to predict the cortisol awakening response (CAR). Specifically, in earlier puberty, higher ELS was associated with a blunted CAR compared to lower ELS; in contrast, in later puberty, higher ELS was associated with a heightened CAR compared to lower ELS. Differences in the relation between ELS severity and the CAR were uniquely determined by puberty, and not by age. By considering and examining the role of puberty, the current study provides a developmental explanation for previous divergent findings of both blunted and heightened patterns of diurnal cortisol following ELS. These results indicate that careful attention should be given to children’s pubertal status before drawing conclusions concerning the nature of diurnal cortisol dysregulation.

Early-Life Stress and Adult Inflammation

The origins of modern psychology are deeply rooted in the notion that stressful early-life experiences negatively impact people’s mental health. Emerging work in the field of health psychology suggests that early-life stress also impacts physical well-being. Indeed, those who experienced severe early-life stress as children are more at risk for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer compared with those who did not have those early-life experiences. Recent work in the field of psychoneuroimmunology suggests that inflammation may be one mechanism underlying these associations. In this article, we provide a brief overview of the literature on early-life stress and inflammation and how psychological, autonomic, neuroendocrine, and epigenetic responses to the early environment lead to potentiated inflammation in adulthood. We conclude by highlighting the need for health-promotion and disease-prevention programs that are designed to reduce the frequency and severity of early-life stress.

Childhood Trauma and Personality Disorder: Positive Correlation With Adult CSF Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Concentrations

To test the hypothesis that early life trauma results in adult stress hormone alterations in individuals with personality disorders, the authors examined the relationship between history of childhood adversity and lumbar CSF corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF). Participants were 20 otherwise healthy men who met DSM-IV criteria for personality disorders. CSF CRF was obtained by lumbar puncture, and childhood adversity was measured by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Correlations were obtained between CSF CRF and the total score on the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire as well as scores on its four subscales. CSF CRF concentrations were positively correlated with the total score on the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Analysis of the subscales revealed that CSF CRF was correlated with emotional neglect. Correlations between CSF CRF level and physical and emotional abuse and with physical neglect were not statistically significant. Consistent with the hypothesis that the severity of early life stress is correlated with stress hormone abnormalities in adulthood, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire total scores and emotional neglect scores were significantly correlated with CSF CRF levels in individuals with personality disorders.