A history of neglect or abuse in childhood appears to be associated with depression and inflammation in adulthood, a combination that may increase cardiovascular risk, according to a report in the April issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
“Major depression is a multisystemic disorder that affects both brain and bodily functions,” the authors write as background information in the article. Depression and cardiovascular disease often occur simultaneously, and inflammation (chronic activation of the immune system) has been linked to both. “However, not all individuals with depression have elevated levels of inflammation. Those who do could be at highest risk for cardiovascular disease.”
Andrea Danese, M.D., M.Sc., of King's College London, and colleagues studied 1,000 New Zealand residents born between 1972 and 1973. Assessments were carried out every two years between ages 3 and 15, then again at ages 18, 21, 26 and 32. Childhood maltreatment—including rejection by a child's mother, harsh discipline, physical or sexual abuse or disruptive changes in caregivers—was identified through parental reports during childhood years, objective observations of behavior and participants' own reports once they reached adulthood. At age 32, participants underwent physical examinations as well as clinical interviews to diagnose depression.