A little blurb on trauma and Telomers.
May 13, 2013
Childhood Trauma Shortens Telomeres
Peter Roy-Byrne, MD reviewing Shalev I et al. Mol Psychiatry 2013 May.
The mechanism of how childhood trauma gets “under the skin” might explain psychopathology in some individuals later in life.
Trauma in early life is a precursor to psychiatric disturbance in adulthood, and this association may be mediated by long-term biological changes in stress response and immune systems. Researchers in this prospective, longitudinal study carefully assessed childhood violence exposure and telomere length in buccal DNA in 236 British children at ages 5 and 10 years.
Violence exposure was defined as being exposed to domestic violence, being the victim of frequent bullying, or being physically maltreated by adults. Analyses were adjusted for sex, socioeconomic status, and weight. Compared with other participants, children with at least two of the three types of violence exposure had significantly more shortening (“erosion”) of telomeres from age 5 to age 10.
COMMENT
Shortening of telomeres has been associated with various risk factors (JW Psychiatry Jun 13 2011) and signs of poor adult health, including aging, smoking, obesity, adult psychiatric illness, and psychosocial stress. This study suggests a chromosomal/genetic mechanism that might link childhood adversity with adult psychiatric disturbances. Telomere erosion has been related to both oxidative stress and inflammation, and inflammation has been linked to childhood maltreatment. The current study result adds to a growing body of evidence that the adult psychological effects of adverse experience result in part from the biological scars produced by adverse experiences and argues for the crucial importance of preventive efforts in childhood.
CITATION(S):
Shalev I et al. Exposure to violence during childhood is associated with telomere erosion from 5 to 10 years of age: A longitudinal study. Mol Psychiatry 2013 May; 18:576. (
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/mp.2012.32)
- See more at:
http://www.jwatch.org/jp201305130000....gwBjCBp8.dpuf