Background

Childhood trauma has been linked to a variety of health-related outcomes in adulthood, including mental health. Some research suggests that inflammation might be the link between trauma exposure and these later health risks.

Research

This study explored the relationship between trauma exposure at three time-points in childhood and alterations in inflammation levels at age 24, measured by a marker of chronic inflammation called soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), as well as two frequently used markers called C-Reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Using the ALSPAC cohort, we first looked at trauma exposure in early (0-4.9 years), middle (5-10.9 years) and late (11-17 years) childhood in relation to the inflammatory markers individually. Secondly, we explored the relationship between trauma experienced at these time-points and the three inflammation markers in combination.

Potential Impact

We found that individuals exposed to trauma in late childhood had higher suPAR levels at age 24, compared to trauma exposure at earlier time points in childhood. We also found that individuals who had experienced trauma in late childhood were more likely to have elevated levels in all three inflammatory markers. The findings highlight the propensity of late childhood trauma (rather than early or mid-childhood trauma) for inflammation dysregulation in early adulthood and encourages future studies to measure suPAR in combination with the other markers when exploring the effects of childhood trauma on adult inflammation.