Exposure to violence during childhood is associated with telomere erosion from 5 to 10 years of age: a longitudinal study

Shalev, Idan; Moffitt, Terrie E.; Sugden, Karen; Williams, Benjamin; Houts, Renate; Danese, Andrea; Mill, Jonathan; Arseneault, Louise; Caspi, Avshalom

doi:10.1038/mp.2012.32

Cited by 427 publications

(382 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…The Finnish twins were young adults when TL was assessed. In older age, the effects of prenatal stress on TL may weaken and be overlaid by other postnatal factors influencing TL such as, for example, environmental stress factors (Ahola et al, 2012;Drury et al, 2012;Humphreys et al, 2012;Kananen et al, 2010;O'Donovan et al, 2011;Shalev et al, 2013b;Surtees et al, 2011;Tyrka et al, 2010;Uchino et al, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low Birth Weight in MZ Twins Discordant for Birth Weight is Associated with Shorter Telomere Length and lower IQ, but not Anxiety/Depression in Later Life

Strohmaier

Dongen²,

Willemsen³

et al. 2015

Twin Res Hum Genet

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Shorter telomere length (TL) has found to be associated with lower birth weight and with lower cognitive ability and psychiatric disorders. However, the direction of causation of these associations and the extent to which they are genetically or environmentally mediated are unclear. Within-pair comparisons of monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins can throw light on these questions. We investigated correlations of within pair differences in telomere length, IQ, and anxiety/depression in an initial sample from Brisbane (242 MZ pairs, 245 DZ same sex (DZSS) pairs) and in replication samples from Amsterdam (514 MZ pairs, 233 DZSS pairs) and Melbourne (19 pairs selected for extreme high or low birth weight difference). Intrapair differences of birth weight and telomere length were significantly correlated in MZ twins, but not in DZSS twins. Greater intra-pair differences of telomere length were observed in the 10% of MZ twins with the greatest difference in birth weight compared to the bottom 90% in both samples and also in the Melbourne sample. Intra-pair differences of telomere length and IQ, but not of TL and anxiety/depression, were correlated in MZ twins, and to a smaller extent in DZSS twins. Our findings suggest that the same prenatal effects that reduce birth weight also influence telomere length in MZ twins. The association between telomere length and IQ is partly driven by the same prenatal effects that decrease birth weight.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low Birth Weight in MZ Twins Discordant for Birth Weight is Associated with Shorter Telomere Length and lower IQ, but not Anxiety/Depression in Later Life

Strohmaier

Dongen²,

Willemsen³

et al. 2015

Twin Res Hum Genet

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“…Adversity at different periods in the lifespan includes prenatal exposure to maternal stress, repeated experiences of abuse during childhood, and adulthood stressors such as exposure to financial and life stressors associated with poverty or caregiving. Some evidence, with exceptions (29,30), indicates that adversity in childhood (31) and adulthood (32-37) are not only cross-sectionally related to short telomeres, but that childhood (38) and adulthood (39) adverse experiences can accelerate shortening over time. The vast majority…”

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confidence: 99%

Lifespan adversity and later adulthood telomere length in the nationally representative US Health and Retirement Study

Puterman

Gemmill

Karasek

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

148

108

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Stress over the lifespan is thought to promote accelerated aging and early disease. Telomere length is a marker of cell aging that appears to be one mediator of this relationship. Telomere length is associated with early adversity and with chronic stressors in adulthood in many studies. Although cumulative lifespan adversity should have bigger impacts than single events, it is also possible that adversity in childhood has larger effects on later life health than adult stressors, as suggested by models of biological embedding in early life. No studies have examined the individual vs. cumulative effects of childhood and adulthood adversities on adult telomere length. Here, we examined the relationship between cumulative childhood and adulthood adversity, adding up a range of severe financial, traumatic, and social exposures, as well as comparing them to each other, in relation to salivary telomere length. We examined 4,598 men and women from the US Health and Retirement Study. Single adversities tended to have nonsignificant relations with telomere length. In adjusted models, lifetime cumulative adversity predicted 6% greater odds of shorter telomere length. This result was mainly due to childhood adversity. In adjusted models for cumulative childhood adversity, the occurrence of each additional childhood event predicted 11% increased odds of having short telomeres. This result appeared mainly because of social/traumatic exposures rather than financial exposures. This study suggests that the shadow of childhood adversity may reach far into later adulthood in part through cellular aging. cellular aging | telomeres | lifespan adversity | childhood adversity A ging cells play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of noncommunicable diseases, and telomere shortening in cells plays a part of this aging process (1, 2). Telomeres are DNAprotein caps at the ends of chromosomes that protect genetic material from degradation, and their lengths indicate cellular aging (2, 3). Experiments in rodents implicate shortened telomeres and lower activity of telomerase, the enzyme that lengthens telomeres, as causes of mitochondrial and tissue damage associated with disease pathogenesis (4-6).Telomere length is linked cross-sectionally and prospectively with human disease states in many studies. A recent meta-analysis suggests that individuals with observed short leukocyte telomeres are at an ∼80% increased risk of concurrent reports of cardiovascular disease and an ∼40% increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the future (7). Other recent meta-analyses support the concurrent associations between short telomeres and diabetes (8) and several cancers (9, 10). Several studies indicate that short telomeres from varied sources, including leukocytes and saliva, are related to early mortality (11-17), including a study with >60,000 adults (18), although null studies also exist (19)(20)(21)(22).Although these studies suggest that telomere length plays a role in disease, they are observational, and studies directly linking genetics...

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“…32 More recent studies suggest that beyond behavior, violence exposure within the home may have an impact on children even at the cellular level. 36,37 Beyond the family context, there is evidence that indirect exposures to neighborhood-based violence, including witnessing physical assault, shootings, and murder, are associated with externalizing behaviors in youth. [38][39][40] Violence exposure within the neighborhood context including witnessing assault and murder is a predictor of externalizing behaviors in youth, poorer academic achievement, and cognitive difficulties.…”

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confidence: 99%

Role of Direct and Indirect Violence Exposure on Externalizing Behavior in Children

et al. 2016

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The objective of this study was to examine the association between externalizing behaviors and indirect violence exposure, assessed both within the household and at the community level, as well as the interaction effect of indirect and direct violence exposure. A sample of parents of children ages 4-15 who have not been referred or enrolled in child welfare (n = 82) were recruited from the greater New Orleans community. Externalizing behavior was assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The child's indirect exposure to violence included witnessing community violence, witnessing physical assault, and witnessing fighting or domestic violence at home. Direct exposure to violence included the child experiencing physical aggression from a caregiver. All assessments were based on caregiver reports. To decrease potential for confounding, children were matched for analysis based on age, Hurricane Katrina exposure, and their propensity to be exposed to high indirect violence. Cumulative indirect exposure to violence was significantly positively correlated with CBCL scores. After controlling for key covariates, CBCL externalizing T score increased significantly by approximately 1.25 points for each level increase in indirect violence exposure (β = 1.25, SE = 0.57, p = 0.027). There also was a significant interaction between indirect and direct exposure to violence in the association with CBCL score (β = −0.08, SE = 0.03, p = 0.002). These findings extend previous research by demonstrating that exposure to both direct and cross-contextual indirect violence influences externalizing behaviors in children. Additionally, the findings suggest that community and household social environments are both important targets for interventions designed to decrease externalizing behaviors and improve longterm outcomes for youth at risk of exposure to violence.KEYWORDS Childhood exposure to violence, Cumulative exposure to violence, Indirect exposure to violence, Direct exposure to violence, Community violence, Household violence, Child physical aggression, Child externalizing behaviors BACKGROUND

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Exposure to violence during childhood is associated with telomere erosion from 5 to 10 years of age: a longitudinal study

Cited by 427 publications

References 67 publications

Low Birth Weight in MZ Twins Discordant for Birth Weight is Associated with Shorter Telomere Length and lower IQ, but not Anxiety/Depression in Later Life

Low Birth Weight in MZ Twins Discordant for Birth Weight is Associated with Shorter Telomere Length and lower IQ, but not Anxiety/Depression in Later Life

Lifespan adversity and later adulthood telomere length in the nationally representative US Health and Retirement Study

Role of Direct and Indirect Violence Exposure on Externalizing Behavior in Children

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