Background: Early-life adversities represent risk factors for the development of bipolar affective disorder and are associated with higher severity of the disorder. This may be the consequence of a sustained alteration of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis resulting from epigenetic modifications of the gene coding for the glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1).
Aims: To investigate whether severity of childhood maltreatment is associated with increased methylation of the exon 1F NR3C1 promoter in bipolar disorder.
Method: A sample of people with bipolar disorder (n = 99) were assessed for childhood traumatic experiences. The percentage of NR3C1 methylation was measured for each participant.
Results: The higher the number of trauma events, the higher was the percentage of NR3C1 methylation (β = 0.52, 95% CI 0.46-0.59, P<<0.0001). The severity of each type of maltreatment (sexual, physical and emotional) was also associated with NR3C1 methylation status.
Conclusions: Early-life adversities have a sustained effect on the HPA axis through epigenetic processes and this effect may be measured in peripheral blood. This enduring biological impact of early trauma may alter the development of the brain and lead to adult psychopathological disorder.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.112.120055 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Childhood maltreatment and its long-lasting impact on health: a novel large-scale study highlights its links to adult mental and physical health.
Evid Based Nurs
January 2025
Primary Care and Mental Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, England
Ripple Effects of Early Life Stress on Vascular Health.
Hypertension
January 2025
Cardio-Renal Physiology and Medicine, Department of Medicine, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL (C.E.K., G.C.K., J.S.P.).
The term early life stress encompasses traumatic events occurring before the age of 18 years, such as physical abuse, verbal abuse, household dysfunctions, sexual abuse, childhood neglect, child maltreatment, and adverse childhood experiences. Adverse psychological experiences in early life are linked to enduring effects on mental and physical health in adulthood. In this review, we first describe the effects and potential mechanisms of early life stress on the components of the vasculature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMaternal History of Child Maltreatment Predicts Dysregulated Offspring Stress Response System Functioning.
Child Maltreat
January 2025
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
Identifying proximal and multigenerational distal risk mechanisms through which adversity exposure may shape neuroendocrine dysregulation among children is critical to advancing effective preventive interventions for adversity-exposed individuals. Utilizing longitudinal data ( = 247), the current study examined maternal and offspring history of childhood maltreatment (CM) as predictors of offspring cortisol/DHEA ratios, and, in exploratory analyses, extended this longitudinally to offspring depressive symptoms in young adulthood. Youth (ages 8-13 years) initially attended a research camp, then were followed up approximately eight years later (ages 18-22 years).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with the early onset of psychiatric and medical disorders and accelerated biological aging.
Objective: To identify types of maltreatment and developmental sensitive periods that are associated with accelerated adult brain aging.
Design: Participants were mothers of infants recruited from the community into a study assessing the effects of CM on maternal behavior, infant attachment, and maternal and infant neurobiology.
The effects of unconditional cash transfers on child abuse and neglect in early childhood: Evidence from New Zealand.
Child Abuse Negl
January 2025
Centre of Methods and Policy Applications in the Social Sciences (COMPASS), The School of Social Sciences, University of Auckland, 1010, New Zealand.
Background: Child abuse and neglect is recorded at higher rates in families with low incomes, and in contexts with lower public spending on families. However, it is not clear whether modest cash transfers could reduce rates.
Objective: To estimate the effects of unconditional cash transfers to mothers with children under 3 years of age on child abuse and neglect.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!