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Childhood Abuse and Inflammatory Responses to Daily Stressors

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Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Background

Childhood abuse leads to greater morbidity and mortality in adulthood. Dysregulated physiological stress responses may underlie the greater health risk among abused individuals.

Purpose

This study evaluated the impact of childhood abuse on inflammatory responses to naturalistically occurring daily stressors.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study of 130 older adults, recent daily stressors and childhood abuse history were evaluated using the Daily Inventory of Stressful Events and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Blood samples provided data on circulating interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP).

Results

Childhood abuse history moderated IL-6 levels but not TNF-α and CRP responses to daily stressors. Individuals with a childhood abuse history who experienced multiple stressors in the past 24 h had IL-6 levels 2.35 times greater than those of participants who reported multiple daily stressors but no early abuse history.

Conclusion

Childhood abuse substantially enhances IL-6 responses to daily stressors in adulthood.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported in part by NIH grants AG025732, UL1RR025755, Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Core Grant CA16058, and a doctoral training award from the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, PY 170-14, Montréal, Québec, Canada, H4B 1R6

    Jean-Philippe Gouin PhD

  2. Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, Department of Molecular Virology, and Medical Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA

    Ronald Glaser PhD

  3. Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, Departments of Molecular Virology and Medical Genetics, and Internal Medicine, Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA

    William B. Malarkey MD

  4. Department of Radiology, Neurology, and Psychology, The Thompson Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA

    David Beversdorf MD

  5. Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser PhD

Authors
  1. Jean-Philippe Gouin PhD
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  2. Ronald Glaser PhD
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  3. William B. Malarkey MD
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  4. David Beversdorf MD
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  5. Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jean-Philippe Gouin PhD.

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Gouin, JP., Glaser, R., Malarkey, W.B. et al. Childhood Abuse and Inflammatory Responses to Daily Stressors. ann. behav. med. 44, 287–292 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-012-9386-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-012-9386-1

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