Early Life SES, Childhood Trauma Exposures, and Cardiovascular Responses to Daily Life Stressors in Middle-aged Adults

Dickman, Kristina D.; Votruba‐Drzal, Elizabeth; Matthews, Karen A.; Kamarck, Thomas W.

doi:10.1007/s12529-022-10141-2

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Visits 1–3 took place in the laboratory and included screening for eligibility, assessment of medical history and resting blood pressure, and completion of psychosocial questionnaires and interviews. At Visit 3, participants also received training for ambulatory monitoring of blood pressure, completion of electronic diaries, and collection of salivary cortisol and DBS measures at home (for prior publications on ambulatory monitoring data, see Chin et al, 2022; Dickman et al, 2022). Participants had the opportunity to practice collecting blood samples in the laboratory and at home and also received a video recording of the procedure.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The total CTQ score involves summing items across each of the five domains (excluding the minimization/denial items; range = 25–125). In addition, dichotomized scores for each of the domains were created based on the clinically validated cutoffs established by Walker et al (1999) and used in prior Study of Health and Interactions in the Natural Environment work (Dickman et al, 2022): emotional abuse: ≥10, physical abuse: ≥8, sexual abuse: ≥8, emotional neglect: ≥15, physical neglect: ≥8. The total CTQ score, log-transformed due to high skew, and dichotomized scores for the five domains served as the independent variables.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sex-specific associations between childhood trauma and adult systemic inflammation in daily life.

Natale,

Koffer,

Fairlie

et al. 2024

Health Psychology

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Objective: Childhood trauma may contribute to lifelong health through chronic systemic inflammation. However, associations between childhood trauma and inflammation are mixed, indicating that distinct types of childhood trauma may relate to inflammation differently. Moreover, most studies use a single assessment of inflammatory markers that may not reliably estimate stable interindividual differences. The current study is the first to examine relationships between childhood trauma and an ecologically valid measure of inflammation derived from repeated assessments of interleukin (IL)-6 in daily life. We also examine the possibility that glucocorticoid sensitivity and patterns of daily cortisol may contribute to observed associations. Finally, we explore whether biological sex moderates relationships between childhood trauma and IL-6. Method: Participants were 283 healthy adults aged 40-64 (57% female, 23% Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) who completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and self-collected dried blood spots at home on 4 days to measure IL-6. Measures of salivary cortisol and blood-based glucocorticoid sensitivity were also assessed. Results: Childhood trauma was not associated with IL-6 in the sample as a whole. However, exploratory analyses showed that childhood trauma related to IL-6 differently for males and females, such that total trauma and emotional neglect predicted higher IL-6 for males but not females. Results persisted after adjustment for covariates. There was no evidence for indirect effects via cortisol or glucocorticoid sensitivity. Conclusions: Childhood trauma and, specifically, emotional neglect were associated with IL-6 in daily life among middle-aged males. Additional research is needed to elucidate biological and behavioral pathways underlying these associations. Public Significance StatementThe current study provides initial evidence for an association of childhood trauma with a reliable measure of systemic inflammation in adulthood, as measured over multiple days in participants' own environments. Recalled experiences of abuse and neglect were associated with higher average levels of inflammation among males but not females. Inflammation may be a pathway contributing to the increased health risk that is associated with childhood trauma.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%