Pituitary-Adrenal and Autonomic Responses to Stress in Women After Sexual and Physical Abuse in Childhood (original) (raw)
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Childhood sexual abuse and hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis in postpartum major depression
Journal of Affective Disorders, 2010
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between early life events in women with postpartum major depression and concomitant hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis disturbances (HPTD), thyroid dysfunction or presence of thyroid antibodies. Methods: Serum total tri-iodothyronine (TT3), free thyroxin (FT4), Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), Thyroperoxidasa (TPOAb) and Thyroglobulin (TGAb) autoantibodies was measured in 103 major postpartum depressive women. HPTD was defined as TSH and/or T4 abnormal, presence of thyroid autoantibodies and alterations of TT3. All women were assessed with a psychiatry structured interview for DSM-IV. Early Trauma Inventory Self Report, sociodemographic, reproductive, psychosocial and psychopathological variables were also assessed. Results: Sixty three percent of women had suffered childhood trauma, which was childhood sexual abuse in 27.2%. Childhood sexual abuse in postpartum major depression women increased the risk for thyroid dysfunction (OR = 5.018, 95%CI = 1.128-22.327), presence of thyroid autoantibodies (OR = 2.528; 95%CI = 1.00-6.39) and HPTD (OR = 2.955; 95% CI = 1.191-7.32). Moreover, age over 34 (OR = 12.394; 95%CI = 1.424-107.910) and previous postpartum depression (OR = 8.470; 95%CI = 1.20-59.43) increased the risk for thyroid dysfunction in postpartum depression. Limitations: The study design does not allow us to know the direction of the association and there is a lack of previous assessment of current posttraumatic stress disorder. Conclusions: According to the present findings, childhood sexual abuse may represent an important risk factor for the presence of thyroid autoantibodies and HPTD in women with postpartum depression.
American Journal of Psychiatry, 2001
Objective: Early adverse life events may predispose individuals to the development of mood and anxiety disorders in adulthood, perhaps by inducing persistent changes in corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neuronal systems. The present study sought to evaluate pituitary-adrenal responses to standard hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis challenge tests in adult female survivors of childhood abuse with and without major depressive disorder.
Effects of Childhood Abuse on Major Depressive Disorderresolved
Clinical and Experimental Health Sciences, 2019
Objective: Childhood trauma is a significant risk factor for major depressive disorder, which has a multifactorial etiology. We investigated the effects of childhood trauma, especially physical and sexual abuse, on depression later in adult life. Methods: The study included 87 patients with depression and 87 healthy volunteers. Participants were asked to fill out the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and Anxiety. We have used the three childhood trauma pattern groups by their CTQ scores. The first group consisted participants who did not report any childhood abuse. The second group comprised participants who had experienced emotional abuse and emotional or physical neglect. The third group included participants who reported physical and sexual abuse. Results: Approximately half of pattern groups 1 and 2 consisted of healthy controls. However, all of the participants who were in pattern group 3 had major depressive disorder. Anxiety and depression levels both had positive correlations with emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. There was a statistically significant difference between pattern groups 2 and 3 in all of the five categories of CTQ. Conclusion: In our study, we found that incidences of physical and sexual abuse increase the risk of depression. Furthermore, they indicate an increased risk for a relationship that consists of emotional neglect and abuse, which is an independent risk factor for major depressive disorder. Therefore, we should not only focus on the individual traumas on childhood trauma cases but also consider if there is a defective pattern of relationship.
Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 2007
The effect of early-life vulnerability factors on the subsequent pathophysiology of severe mood disorders has yet to be fully elucidated. This study examines the relationship between early adverse life experience, family history and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function. Childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ) scores, family history data and the cortisol response to the dexamethasone/corticotrophin releasing hormone (dex/CRH) test were examined in 40 patients with severe mood disorder. Normative data for the CTQ was also obtained. The study demonstrated that mood disorder patients reporting high levels of childhood emotional neglect (n = 26) had an HPA axis response which did not differ from controls, whereas patients reporting low levels (n = 19) had an enhanced response (p = 0.011). A positive family history of mood disorder further enhanced this response. These data suggest that early adverse life events and genetic susceptibility have dissociable effects on glucocorticoid receptor-mediated negative feedback of the HPA axis in adult patients with severe mood disorders.
Influence of Child Abuse on Adult Depression
Archives of General Psychiatry, 2008
Context: Genetic inheritance and developmental life stress both contribute to major depressive disorder in adults. Child abuse and trauma alter the endogenous stress response, principally corticotropin-releasing hormone and its downstream effectors, suggesting that a geneϫenvironment interaction at this locus may be important in depression. Objective: To examine whether the effects of child abuse on adult depressive symptoms are moderated by genetic polymorphisms within the corticotropin-releasing hormone type 1 receptor (CRHR1) gene. Design: Association study examining geneϫ environment interactions between genetic polymorphisms at the CRHR1 locus and measures of child abuse on adult depressive symptoms.
Effects of Childhood Abuse on Major Depressive Disorder
Clinical and Experimental Health Sciences, 2019
Objective: Childhood trauma is a significant risk factor for major depressive disorder, which has a multifactorial etiology. We investigated the effectsof childhood trauma, especially physical and sexual abuse, on depression later in adult life.Methods: The study included 87 patients with depression and 87 healthy volunteers. Participants were asked to fill out the Childhood TraumaQuestionnaire (CTQ) and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and Anxiety. We have used the three childhood trauma pattern groups by theirCTQ scores. The first group consisted participants who did not report any childhood abuse. The second group comprised participants who hadexperienced emotional abuse and emotional or physical neglect. The third group included participants who reported physical and sexual abuse.Results: Approximately half of pattern groups 1 and 2 consisted of healthy controls. However, all of the participants who were in pattern group 3had major depressive disorder. Anxiety and depression...
Depression and Anxiety
The objective of this study was to examine the modifying effect of gender on the association between early life trauma and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to a pharmacologic challenge and a social stress task in men and women. Participants (16 men, 23 women) were the control sample of a larger study examining HPA axis function. Individuals with major depressive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, or psychotic or eating disorders were excluded. In two test sessions, subjects received 1 µg/kg of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) intravenously and participated in the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Primary outcomes included plasma cortisol and corticotropin levels measured at baseline and more than five time points following the challenges. Predictors included gender and early life trauma, as measured by the Early Trauma Index. Using factor analysis, the domains general trauma, severe trauma, and the effects of trauma were established....