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Cited by 330Child Abuse and TraumaStress Responses and CortisolHealth disparities and outcomes

Childhood adversity and inflammatory processes in youth: a prospective study

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Slopen, Natalie, Kubzansky, Laura D., McLaughlin, Katie A., Koenen, Karestan C.·2013·Psychoneuroendocrinology
DOI 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.05.013PMC PMC3632283
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Abstract

Background Retrospective studies show that childhood adversity is associated with systemic inflammation in adulthood. Few prospective studies have examined whether childhood adversity influences inflammation in an observable manner during childhood or adolescence and if these effects are sustained over time.Methods Using longitudinal data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, we examined associations between acute adverse events at seven time points prior to age 8 and inflammation at ages 10 and 15. Inflammatory markers at age 10 included interleukin-6 (IL-6; N=4655) and C-reactive protein (CRP; N=4647), and CRP was measured again at age 15 (N=3286). We further evaluated whether body mass index (BMI), depression, or cigarette smoking mediated associations between adverse events and inflammation.Results Adverse events in middle childhood (occurring between ages 6 to 8), as well as cumulative adversity from birth to 8 years, were associated with higher levels of IL-6 and CRP at age 10. Adverse events reported in early childhood (1.5years) or middle childhood, and cumulative adversity from birth through 8years predicted increased levels of CRP at age 15, and these associations persisted after adjustment for CRP at age 10. Some, but not all, of these associations were mediated by BMI.Conclusions This study documents that exposure to adverse events prior to age 8 is associated with elevated inflammation at age 10 and in mid-adolescence. These findings provide prospective evidence for a biological mechanism by which early experiences may shape long-term health. Future studies with earlier assessments of inflammation are necessary in order to elucidate potential sensitive periods and mechanisms that link childhood adversity to later disease vulnerability.

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  • Individuals who have experienced early life stress exhibit significant increases in systemic inflammatory activity from early childhood (1.5 years) through late childhood (10 years) and into midadolescence (15 years).

    “individuals who have experienced early life stress, and who are thus at high risk for developing depression during their lifetime, exhibit significant increases in systemic inflammatory activity from early childhood (1.5 years old) through late childhood (10 years old) and into midadolescence (15 years old”

    From From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: A social signal transduction theory of depression. (2014) · cites this paper as Slopen et al., 2013

    The Discussion reports higher inflammatory markers at ages 10 and 15 in association with some childhood adverse events. But age 1.5 was an age at which adversity was recorded, not inflammation measured; adversity reported between ages 1.5 and 6 was not associated with inflammation at age 10. The paper therefore does not establish significant increases in inflammatory activity throughout the stated age span. (LLM, conf=0.90)

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  • Greater cumulative stress exposure before age 8 predicted higher levels of IL-6 and CRP at age 10 and higher levels of CRP at age 15 in a population-based prospective longitudinal study of more than 4,600 children.

    “greater cumulative stress exposure before age 8 predicted higher levels of IL-6 and CRP at age 10 and higher levels of CRP at age 15”

    From From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: A social signal transduction theory of depression. (2014) · cites this paper as Slopen, Kubzansky, McLaughlin, and Koenen (2013)

  • Adversity at 1.5 years predicts increased levels of C reactive protein at age 15.

    “adversity at 1.5 years predicting increased levels of C reactive protein at age 15 (151)”

    From The Stress Acceleration Hypothesis of Nightmares (2017) · cites this paper as [151]

  • Adversity during middle childhood (6-8 years) is related to higher CRP at both 10 and 15 years.

    “Slopen and colleagues (2013) also found that adversity during middle childhood (6–8 years) was related to higher CRP at both 10 and 15 years.”

    From Developmental psychoneuroendocrine and psychoneuroimmune pathways from childhood adversity to disease (2017) · cites this paper as Slopen et al., 2013

  • Adversity exposure during infancy is related to higher CRP at age 15 but not at age 10.

    “Adversity exposure during infancy was related to higher CRP at age 15 but not at age 10, which raises the question of why adversity during infancy would be related to inflammation during mid-adolescence but not late childhood.”

    From Developmental psychoneuroendocrine and psychoneuroimmune pathways from childhood adversity to disease (2017) · cites this paper as Slopen et al., 2013

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Authors
Slopen, N., Kubzansky, L. D., McLaughlin, K. A., & Koenen, K. C.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Boston Children's Hospital (US)
  • Columbia University (US)
Corresponding author
Slopen, Natalie
ORCID
Venue
Psychoneuroendocrinology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2013-02
Volume
38
Issue
2
Pages
188-200
ISSN
0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.05.013
PMC
PMC3632283
OpenAlex
W2086951593
Cited by
330
References
74
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 35 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 1
FWCI
20.37
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • UK Medical Research Council (74882)
  • Wellcome Trust (076467)
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, systemic inflammation, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, cumulative adversity, middle childhood, adolescence, body mass index, depression, cigarette smoking, mediation, sensitive period, Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Age Factors, C-Reactive Protein, Child, Depression, Female, Humans, Life Change Events, Male, Prospective Studies, Interleukin-6, Body Mass Index, Inflammation Mediators

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