Emotional Abuse Increases Inflammation
Trauma in childhood is a risk factor for depression, and both childhood trauma and depression have been linked to increased inflammation. In a study presented at the 2016 meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry, Sarah R. Horn and colleagues found that emotional abuse in childhood predicted high levels of inflammation measured in the blood in adulthood.
Horn and colleagues took blood samples from 35 people with treatment-resistant depression and 28 healthy control subjects. The researchers measured inflammatory markers in the blood and also interviewed the participants about any physical, sexual, or emotional abuse they experienced in childhood. Among all the participants, emotional abuse was linked to elevated levels of several inflammatory markers, including interleukin-6, interleukin-10, interleukin-1a, interleukin-15, and fractalkine.
The researchers suggest that more research is needed to clarify the link between early trauma, depression, and inflammation. How elevated inflammation in people with a history of abuse may influence the effectiveness of different psychotherapies and medications for depression remains to be determined.
