Association of elevated cytokines with childhood adversity in a sample of healthy adults

Objective: Childhood trauma has been associated adult stress-related disorders. However, little is known about physiologic alterations in adults with a history of early life trauma that do not have current psychiatric or medical diagnoses. In this study, the relationships between childhood adversity and cytokine and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in healthy adults were examined. Method: Participants included men (n = 18) and women (n = 20) who did not meet DSM-IV criteria for Axis I psychiatric disorders or any major medical illness. Cytokine and CRP levels were obtained from baseline blood samples. Subjects completed the Early Trauma Inventory Self Report (ETI-SR). The primary outcomes included serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1 beta (IL1-beta), and CRP levels. In addition, the mean numbers of traumatic experiences (sexual, physical, emotional, general, and the summed total) were measured. Results: Significant positive associations were found between the total ETI score and IL-6 (p = 0.05), IL1-beta (p < 0.05), and TNF-alpha (p = 0.01). Significant positive correlations were found between the number of general traumas and IL1-beta (p < 0.05), TNF-alpha (p < 0.05), and IL-6 (p < 0.01). Neither the total number of traumas nor any of the trauma subscales were significantly associated with CRP levels. Conclusions: The positive association between childhood trauma and basal cytokine levels supports the extant literature demonstrating the long-term impact of childhood trauma and stress on homeostatic systems. Importantly, this association was found in healthy adults, suggesting that these alterations may precede the development of significant stress-related psychiatric disorder or disease. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.