Inflammation and early-life abuse in women
Open accessAbstract
Background Abuse in childhood and adolescence may affect risks of diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life. Although mechanisms underlying these relationships are unclear, chronic stress may lead to dysregulation of immune function and chronic inflammation.Purpose To evaluate associations between early-life physical and sexual abuse and blood levels of inflammatory markers in adulthood among 702 members of the Nurses' Health Study II.Methods Abuse in childhood (before age 11 years) and adolescence (ages 11-17 years) was self-reported in 2001. Plasma samples collected in 1996-1999 were assayed for C-reactive protein (CRP); interleukin (IL)-6; and the soluble fraction of tumor necrosis factor alpha receptor 2 in 2001, 2009, and 2010.Results Mean age at blood collection was 43.9 years. Moderate or severe physical abuse was reported by 35.3% of participants; 22.7% reported unwanted sexual touching and 9.8% reported forced sex. Plasma levels of CRP and IL-6 were higher in women reporting sexual abuse in adolescence compared to those reporting no abuse (p=0.04 and 0.03, respectively) in analyses adjusted for confounders including age and childhood adiposity. Inflammatory marker levels similarly were elevated in women reporting sexual abuse during childhood, but results were not significant. Relationships largely persisted after further adjustment for potential mediators such as adult BMI and smoking. Physical abuse during childhood and/or adolescence was not consistently associated with inflammatory marker levels.Conclusions Chronic inflammation may be one mechanism through which sexual abuse may affect future risk of physical and psychological disorders.
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Individuals exposed to childhood maltreatment show heightened levels of CRP in adulthood.
“Indeed, individuals who were exposed to childhood maltreatment, as well as those exposed to difficult family and socio-economic circumstances in childhood (Taylor et al, 2006), show heightened levels of CRP in adulthood (Bertone-Johnson et al, 2012;Danese et al, 2007;Lin et al, 2016;Matthews et al, 2014;Rooks et al, 2012;Tietjen et al, 2012).”
From Inflammation in Fear- and Anxiety-Based Disorders: PTSD, GAD, and Beyond (2017) · cites this paper as Bertone-Johnson et al, 2012
The Abstract Results report higher adult CRP in women reporting adolescent sexual abuse. CRP was also elevated after childhood sexual abuse, but that result was not statistically significant; physical abuse was not consistently associated with inflammatory markers. The claim generalizes these findings to individuals exposed to childhood maltreatment broadly. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredPhysical and sexual abuse are not consistently linked with elevated inflammation in adults after accounting for covariates such as BMI and smoking.
“Of note, physical and sexual abuse are not consistently linked with elevated inflammation in adults after accounting for covariates such as BMI and smoking (Bertone-Johnson et al., 2012)”
From Developmental psychoneuroendocrine and psychoneuroimmune pathways from childhood adversity to disease (2017) · cites this paper as Bertone-Johnson et al., 2012
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“…physical and sexual abuse are not consistently linked with elevated inflammation in adults after accounting for covariates such as BMI and smoking (Bertone-Johnson et al., 2012), suggesting potential behavioral or developmental pathways that may lead from physical trauma to the persistence of…”
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- Authors
- Bertone-Johnson, E. R., Whitcomb, B. W., Missmer, S. A., Karlson, E. W., & Rich-Edwards, J. W.
- Affiliations
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (US)
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Venue
- American Journal of Preventive Medicine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2012-12
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 611-620
- ISSN
- 0749-3797 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3504353
- OpenAlex
- W2084728844
- Cited by
- 134
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 4
- FWCI
- 10.50
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- American Journal of Preventive Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- NIH, DHHS (CA50385, AR049880, HD057201, HL064108)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- childhood abuse, adolescent sexual abuse, physical abuse, chronic inflammation, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, soluble TNF receptor 2, immune dysregulation, chronic stress, women, Nurses' Health Study II
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, C-Reactive Protein, Child, Child Abuse, Child Abuse, Sexual, Chronic Disease, Female, Humans, Inflammation, Severity of Illness Index, Stress, Psychological, Interleukin-6, Inflammation Mediators, Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type II, Adult Survivors of Child Abuse
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