Adverse childhood experiences and severity levels of inflammation and depression from childhood to young adulthood: a longitudinal cohort study

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with depression and systemic inflammation in adults. However, limited longitudinal research has tested these relationships in children and young people, and it is unclear whether inflammation is an underlying mechanism through which ACEs influence depression. We examined the longitudinal associations of several ACEs across different early-life periods with longitudinal patterns of early-life inflammation and depression in young adulthood and assessed the mediating role of inflammation. The data came from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (N = 3931). ACEs from the prenatal period through to adolescence were operationalised using cumulative scores, single adversities, and dimensions derived through factor analysis. Inflammation (C-reactive protein) was measured on three occasions (9–18 years) and depressive symptoms were ascertained on four occasions (18–23 years). Latent class growth analysis was employed to delineate group-based trajectories of inflammation and depression. The associations between ACEs and the inflammation/depression trajectories were tested using multinomial logistic regression analysis. Most types of ACEs across all early-life periods were associated with elevated depression trajectories, with larger associations for threat-related adversities compared with other ACEs. Bullying victimisation and sexual abuse in late childhood/adolescence were associated with elevated CRP trajectories, while other ACEs were unrelated to inflammation. Inflammation was also unrelated to depression and did not mediate the associations with ACEs. These results suggest that ACEs are consistently associated with depression, whereas the associations of inflammation with ACEs and depression are weak in young people. Interventions targeting inflammation in this population might not offer protection against depression.

Neuroimmune mechanisms connecting violence with internalizing symptoms: A high‐dimensional multimodal mediation analysis

“…For instance, it is possible that peripheral inflammation is only elevated for a few weeks or months following violence exposure. If this is the case, we are likely missing the window during which inflammation was elevated among these adolescents, resulting in the current study giving us the false impression that peripheral inflammation is not mechanistically important in connecting violence exposure with internalizing symptoms, a result which others have found (Iob et al, 2022). While the time course of inflammation following violence exposure has not been well characterized, human studies have confirmed increases in peripheral inflammation following acute stressors (Kautz et al, 2020).…”

Healthcare providers screening for childhood abuse among adult patients in Saudi Arabia: A cross‐sectional study

“…Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) (e.g., childhood abuse) occur in individuals from childhood to 18 years of age, differ in severity, and repeated over time (Hughes et al, 2017;Iob et al, 2022; LeMoult et al, 2020). ACEs impact children at stages in which they are vulnerable to biological, psychological, behavioral, and mental changes and issues (Herzog & Schmahl, 2018).…”

Gypenoside XVII, an Active Ingredient from Gynostemma Pentaphyllum, Inhibits C3aR-Associated Synaptic Pruning in Stressed Mice

“…Depression is a common mental disorder and one of the most important public health problems in the world. Increasing evidence shows a close connection between inflammation and depression [1,2]. The key to the influence of neuroinflammation on depression lies in the imbalance of the control and release of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines.…”