Cited by 77Child Abuse and TraumaStress Responses and CortisolHealth disparities and outcomes

Childhood adversity and cell-mediated immunity in young adulthood: does type and timing matter?

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Slopen, Natalie, McLaughlin, Katie A., Dunn, Erin C., Koenen, Karestan C.·2013·Brain Behavior and Immunity

Abstract

Childhood adversity can have powerful effects on health over the life course. Persistent changes in cell-mediated immune function may be one pathway linking adverse childhood experiences with later disease risk. However, limited research has examined childhood adversity in relation to cell-mediated immune function, and in particular, immune response to latent viruses in adulthood. The present study investigated the association of two types of childhood adversity, socioeconomic disadvantage during adolescence and abuse prior to age 18, with Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) antibody titers in a large nationally representative sample of young adults aged 24-32years. Data were drawn from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health, Wave 4 (n=13,162). We examined the associations of three indicators of adolescent SES (parental education, household income, and occupational status) and frequency and timing of physical and sexual abuse with EBV antibodies, controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and presence of a smoker in the household during adolescence. Lower parental occupational status and some categories of lower education were associated with elevated EBV antibodies (p<.05), and individuals who reported sexual abuse that occurred more than 10times had elevated EBV antibodies relative to individuals who were not sexually abused (p=0.03). Among individuals exposed to physical abuse, those who were first abused at age 3-5years had heightened EBV antibodies relative to those first abused during adolescence (p=0.004). This study extends prior research linking early adversity and immune function, and provides initial evidence that childhood adversity has a persistent influence on immune responses to latent infection in adulthood.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.bbi.2012.10.018

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  • Sexual abuse at ages 3-5 (vs. abuse in adolescence) is associated with increased Epstein-Barr virus antibodies in adulthood.

    “or sexual abuse at ages 3–5 (vs. abuse in adolescence) being associated with increased Epstein–Barr virus antibodies in adulthood (152).”

    From The Stress Acceleration Hypothesis of Nightmares (2017) · cites this paper as [152]

    The Results report no pronounced association between the timing of first sexual abuse and EBV antibodies, including when compared with first sexual abuse during adolescence. The age-3–5 versus adolescence finding instead concerns physical abuse, as stated in the Discussion. (LLM, conf=0.94)

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  • ELA has been linked in human studies and animal experimentation to chronic inflammation and low-level immunosuppression, including impairment of mucosal immunity in children and cellular immunity in adolescents and adults.

    “ELA has been linked in human studies and animal experimentation to chronic inflammation [59] and low-level immunosuppression, including impairment of mucosal immunity in children [60] and cellular immunity (e.g., poorer control of latent viral infection) in adolescents [61] and adults [62].”

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Biemer PP Aragon-Logan ED 2011 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Wave IV Weights RTI International Springer Research Triangle Park, NC
  2. Rothman KJ Greenland S Lash TL 2008 Modern Epidemiology Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Philadelphia

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Authors
Slopen, N., McLaughlin, K. A., Dunn, E. C., & Koenen, K. C.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
  • Columbia University (US)
Corresponding author
Slopen, Natalie
Venue
Brain Behavior and Immunity
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2013-02
Volume
28
Pages
63-71
ISSN
0889-1591 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2157678617
Cited by
77
References
76
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 5
FWCI
5.76
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Brain Behavior and Immunity (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
  • National Institute of Mental Health (K01MH092526)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P01HD031921)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
Keywords
childhood adversity, cell-mediated immunity, Epstein-Barr virus, physical abuse, sexual abuse, parental education, household income, parental occupational status, viral latency, young adults, adolescent health
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Antibodies, Viral, Child, Child Abuse, Sexual, Child, Preschool, Educational Status, Herpesvirus 4, Human, Female, Humans, Immunity, Cellular, Male, Socioeconomic Factors, Adult Survivors of Child Abuse, Young Adult

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