Childhood Maltreatment and Telomere Shortening: Preliminary Support for an Effect of Early Stress on Cellular Aging
Biological PsychiatryPublished 15 October 2009Open access
Audrey R. Tyrka, Lawrence H. Price, Hung‐Teh Kao, Barbara Porton, Sarah A. Marsella, Linda L. Carpenter
Citations334
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
TL;DR
The results extend previous reports linking shortened leukocyte telomere length and caregiver stress to more remote stressful experiences in childhood and suggest that childhood maltreatment could influence cellular aging.
Abstract
These results extend previous reports linking shortened leukocyte telomere length and caregiver stress to more remote stressful experiences in childhood and suggest that childhood maltreatment could influence cellular aging.
Keywords
MedicineBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Journal of Health and Social BehaviorA Global Measure of Perceived Stress
32,415 Citations1983Sheldon Cohen, Tom Kamarck +1 more
The Perceived Stress Scale showed adequate reliability and, as predicted, was correlated with life-event scores, depressive and physical symptomatology, utilization of health services, social anxiety, and smoking-reduction maintenance and was a better predictor of the outcome in question than were life- event scores.
Child Abuse & NeglectDevelopment and validation of a brief screening version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire
6,317 Citations2003David P. Bernstein, Judith A. Stein +9 more
These findings support the viability of the CTQ-SF across diverse clinical and nonreferred populations and demonstrated good criterion-related validity in a subsample of adolescents on whom corroborative data were available.
Physiological ReviewsPhysiology and Neurobiology of Stress and Adaptation: Central Role of the Brain
4,801 Citations2007Bruce S. McEwen
As an adjunct to pharmaceutical therapy, social and behavioral interventions such as regular physical activity and social support reduce the chronic stress burden and benefit brain and body health and resilience.
Nucleic Acids ResearchTelomere measurement by quantitative PCR
3,526 Citations2002Richard Cawthon
A primer pair is presented that eliminates the problem of presumed impossible to measure telomeres in vertebrate DNA by PCR amplification with oligonucleotide primers designed to hybridize to the TTAGGG and CCCTAA repeats, allowing simple and rapid measurement of telomere length in a closed tube, fluorescence-based assay.
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesAccelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress
2,981 Citations2004Elissa S. Epel, Elizabeth H. Blackburn +5 more
Psychological BulletinImpact of child sexual abuse: A review of the research.
2,590 Citations1986Angela Browne, David Finkelhor
Revue de la litterature traitant des effets des agressions sexuelles contre des enfants et discussion de leurs effets immediats et a long terme et de l'impact des differents types d'agression.
American Journal of PsychiatryRelationship Between Multiple Forms of Childhood Maltreatment and Adult Mental Health in Community Respondents: Results From the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study
1,812 Citations2003Valerie J. Edwards, George W. Holden +2 more
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent PsychiatryValidity of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire in an Adolescent Psychiatric Population
1,534 Citations1997David P. Bernstein, Taruna Ahluvalia +2 more
These initial findings suggest that the CTQ is a sensitive and valid screening questionnaire for childhood trauma in an adolescent psychiatric inpatient setting.
The LancetObesity, cigarette smoking, and telomere length in women
1,349 Citations2005Ana M. Valdes, Toby Andrew +6 more
It is found that telomere length decreased steadily with age at a mean rate of 27 bp per year, and the pro-ageing effects of obesity and cigarette smoking are emphasised.
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent PsychiatryMental Health Need and Access to Mental Health Services by Youths Involved With Child Welfare: A National Survey
1,156 Citations2004Barbara J. Burns, Susan D. Phillips +5 more
Routine screening for mental health need and increasing access to mental health professionals for further evaluation and treatment should be a priority for children early in their contact with the child welfare system.
Child Abuse & NeglectLong-term physical and mental health consequences of childhood physical abuse: Results from a large population-based sample of men and women
956 Citations2007Kristen W. Springer, Jennifer Sheridan +2 more
In a population-based cohort of middle-aged men and women, childhood physical abuse predicted worse mental and physical health decades after the abuse and these effects were attenuated, but not eliminated, by age, sex, family background, and childhood adversities.
American Journal of EpidemiologyLeukocyte Telomere Length and Cardiovascular Disease in the Cardiovascular Health Study
773 Citations2006Annette L. Fitzpatrick, Richard A. Kronmal +7 more
The Journal of Experimental MedicineTelomere Fluorescence Measurements in Granulocytes and T Lymphocyte Subsets Point to a High Turnover of Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Memory T Cells in Early Childhood
715 Citations1999Nathalie Rufer, Tim H. Brümmendorf +6 more
The findings point to a dramatic decline in stem cell turnover in early childhood and support the notion that cell divisions in hematopoietic stem cells and T cells result in loss of telomeric DNA.
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesThe rate of telomere sequence loss in human leukocytes varies with age
676 Citations1998Robert W. Frenck, Elizabeth H. Blackburn +1 more
The surprising observation that rates of telomere attrition vary markedly at different ages is reported, suggesting that the loss of telomeric repeats in hematopoietic cells is a dynamic process that is differentially regulated in young children and adults.
Biological PsychiatryTelomere Shortening and Mood Disorders: Preliminary Support for a Chronic Stress Model of Accelerated Aging
514 Citations2006Naomi M. Simon, Jordan W. Smoller +7 more
Preliminary evidence that mood disorders are associated with accelerated aging is provided and a novel mechanism for mood disorder-associated morbidity and mortality is suggested.
Journal of Personality DisordersInterrater Reliability and Internal Consistency of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders (SCID-II), Version 2.0
508 Citations1997Cesare Maffei, Angelo Eugenio Fossati +7 more
The results suggest that the SCID-II 2.0 has adequate interrater and internal consistency reliability.
StressStress, depression and cardiovascular dysregulation: A review of neurobiological mechanisms and the integration of research from preclinical disease models
451 Citations2009Angela J. Grippo, Alan Kim Johnson
The investigation of mechanisms underlying mood and cardiovascular regulation using animal models will enhance understanding the association between depression and cardiovascular disease and promote the development of better treatments and interventions for individuals with co-morbid psychological and somatic pathologies.
American Journal of PsychiatryInitial reliability and validity of the childhood trauma interview: a new multidimensional measure of childhood interpersonal trauma
449 Citations1995LA Fink, David P. Bernstein +3 more
Initial findings suggest that the Childhood Trauma Interview is a reliable and valid method for brief assessment of multiple dimensions of six types of childhood interpersonal trauma.
The Journal of ImmunologyAccelerated Telomere Erosion Is Associated with a Declining Immune Function of Caregivers of Alzheimer’s Disease Patients
410 Citations2007Amanda K. Damjanovic, Yinhua Yang +7 more
It is demonstrated that chronic stress is associated with altered T cell function and accelerated immune cell aging as suggested by excessive telomere loss.
American Journal of Physical AnthropologyCritical periods in human growth and their relationship to diseases of aging
346 Citations2002No�l Cameron, Ellen W. Demerath
Existing studies support the notion that telomere shortening is not only a clock of cellular division, but also marks relative growth rate, as well as contributing to common degenerative processes of aging through its impact on cellular senescence.
Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & PreventionTelomere Length, Cigarette Smoking, and Bladder Cancer Risk in Men and Women
342 Citations2007Monica McGrath, Jason Wong +3 more
Telomeres were significantly shorter in bladder cancer cases than in controls and the association between telomere length, cigarette smoking, and bladder cancer risk was associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer.
Child Abuse & NeglectFactor structure and reliability of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire in a Canadian undergraduate student sample
298 Citations2004Sandra C. Paivio, Kenneth M. Cramer
The CTQ appears to be a valid measure of abuse and neglect in student samples, although experiences are somewhat differentially identified as different types of Abuse and neglect depending on age and patient versus nonpatient status.
American Journal of EpidemiologyWhy Do Children from Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Families Suffer from Poor Health When They Reach Adulthood? A Life-Course Study
288 Citations2007Maria Melchior, Terrie E. Moffitt +3 more
Results showed that low childhood SES was associated with an increased risk of substance dependence and poor physical health in adulthood, suggesting that the processes mediating the link between childhood low SES and adult poor health are multifactorial.
Annals of NeurologyTelomere length predicts poststroke mortality, dementia, and cognitive decline
257 Citations2006Carmen Martín-Ruiz, Heather O Dickinson +4 more
Telomere length in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was tested as prognostic risk marker for stroke survivors and showed promise in identifying those at risk for dementia.
Current Opinion in PsychiatryInflammatory markers in depression
203 Citations2008Timothy G. Dinan
Depression is an inflammatory state that may increase the risk of cardiac disease and whether or not the immune system is an appropriate target for antidepressant development has yet to be established.
Experimental NeurologyGlucocorticoids Increase the Accumulation of Reactive Oxygen Species and Enhance Adriamycin-Induced Toxicity in Neuronal Culture
203 Citations1996Laura J. McIntosh, Robert M. Sapolsky
Interestingly, when tested with dichlorofluorescein for levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), GCs increased ROS by approximately 10% basally and at all adriamycin doses in both hippocampal and cortical cultures, suggesting greater generation of ROS does not account for the increased susceptibility of the hippocampus to oxidative damage.
BloodRapid Telomere Shortening in Children
178 Citations1999Steven L. Zeichner, Paul Palumbo +7 more
Results show that the rate of telomere loss changes during ontogeny, suggesting the existence of periods of accelerated cell division in children, and may provide an explanation for some of the distinctive pathogenic features of the HIV disease in infants.
Brain ResearchGlucocorticoids may alter antioxidant enzyme capacity in the brain: baseline studies
175 Citations1998Laura J. McIntosh, Kay E Hong +1 more
Results indicate that the presence of GCs may lower the antioxidant capacity of tissues in a region-specific manner, and that the deficit may not appear until the tissue is challenged with supranormal levels of oxidative products (as seen with GSPx).
Brain Behavior and ImmunityPessimism correlates with leukocyte telomere shortness and elevated interleukin-6 in post-menopausal women
157 Citations2008Aoife O’Donovan, Jue Lin +5 more
It is suggested that dispositional pessimism may increase IL-6 and accelerate rate of telomere shortening and Mechanistic causal relationships between these parameters need to be investigated.
International Journal of CancerTelomere length, oxidative damage, antioxidants and breast cancer risk
156 Citations2008Jing Shen, Marilie D. Gammon +6 more
The results provided the strongest evidence to date that breast cancer risk may be affected by telomere length among premenopausal women or women with low dietary intake of antioxidants or antioxidant supplements.
International Archives of Occupational and Environmental HealthRelationships between perceived workload, stress and oxidative DNA damage
142 Citations2001Masahiro Irie, Shinya Asami +3 more
Investigating the relationship between work-related factors and the formation of a type of oxidative DNA damage, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), found that psychological stress and perceived overwork appear to be related to the pathogenesis of cancer via the Formation of 8-OH -dG, particularly in female workers.
Biochemical and Biophysical Research CommunicationsDepressive state relates to female oxidative DNA damage via neutrophil activation
126 Citations2003Masahiro Irie, Shinya Asami +2 more
Psychological depression was related to cancer risk due to oxidative DNA damage in females, possibly via neutrophil activation, and there was a positive correlation between the percentage of neutrophils and the 8-OH-dG levels in females.
Free Radical ResearchOxygen free radicals in cell senescence: Are they signal transducers?
123 Citations2006João F. Passos, Thomas von Zglinicki
The available data are compatible with the concept that senescence is triggered as a DNA damage response, and ROS appear to be involved as inducers of DNA damage rather than as specific signalling molecules.
Child Abuse & NeglectStability of retrospective self-reports of child abuse and neglect before and after therapy for child abuse issues☆
117 Citations2001Sandra C. Paivio
The stability of the CTQ in the context of significantly reduced psychopathology contributes to evidence supporting the accuracy of retrospective self-reports of childhood abuse.
Proceedings of The Nutrition SocietyGenome-health nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics: nutritional requirements or ‘nutriomes’ for chromosomal stability and telomere maintenance at the individual level
90 Citations2008Caroline F. Bull, Michael Fenech
Some of the recent knowledge relating to micronutrients that are associated with chromosomal stability are summarized and some initial insights into the likely nutritional factors that may be expected to have an impact on the maintenance of telomeres are provided.
PubMedGlucocorticoids may enhance oxygen radical-mediated neurotoxicity.
87 Citations1997McIntosh Lj, Sapolsky Rm
It is hypothesize that GCs may exacerbate the toxicity of three neurotoxins whose mechanisms of action overlap GC pathways, and endogenous stress hormones, glucocorticoids, to perturb neuronal homeostasis, and adriamycin to generate ROS.
Mechanisms of Ageing and DevelopmentFactors impacting human telomere homeostasis and age-related disease
73 Citations2007David Gilley, Brittney‐Shea Herbert +3 more
This review discusses two major causes of telomere dysfunction that potentially lead to tumorigenesis: replicative aging and environmental assaults, which are both linked to age-related disease especially cancer.
Physiology & BehaviorMechanisms and modulation of neural cell damage induced by oxidative stress
46 Citations2007Sandra Ceccatelli, Christoffer Tamm +2 more
It is found that prenatal exposure to high levels of glucocorticoids renders neural cells, including stem cells, more sensitive to oxidative stress damage, and similar effects were seen after in utero exposure to methylmercury.
Developmental BiologyIonizing radiation-induced gene modulations, cytokine content changes and telomere shortening in mouse fetuses exhibiting forelimb defects
27 Citations2008Hanane Derradji, Sofie Bekaert +6 more
Psychiatric GeneticsTelomeric length varies with age and polymorphisms of the MAOA gene promoter in peripheral blood cells obtained from a community in Taiwan
15 Citations2005For‐Wey Lung, Pao‐Luo Fan +2 more
The present data suggest that high-activity MAOA promoter gene polymorphisms, as in aging, are a risk factor for telomeric shortening and the MAoa promoter gene may also serve as a clinical marker in the treatment of cardiovascular disease.
