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Publications — No Comments
13
Jul 22

The intergenerational interplay of adversity on salivary inflammation in young children and caregivers

Systemic inflammation links exposure to early childhood adversity to later disease. The associations among adversity and disease risk might in part operate through poor oral hygiene and subsequent periodontal inflammation, which can be measured in saliva. Few studies, however, have examined the association between adversity and salivary inflammation in young children. Further, there is a dearth of literature investigating adverse experiences and salivary inflammation in children and caregivers together, limiting our understanding of the intergenerational, dual effects of adversity on inflammation for both members of the caregiver-child dyad. This study tested child and caregiver adversity and their associations with an inflammatory composite (i.e., IL-6, IL-1β, IL-8, TNF-α) and CRP in 93 preschool-age children and their caregivers. Caregivers reported on their child’s experiences of adversity, as well as on their own adverse experiences, using a comprehensive questionnaire synthesized from previous checklists for complete coverage of possible adverse events. Results showed that caregivers’ salivary inflammatory markers (i.e., IL-6, IL-1β, IL-8, TNF-α, and CRP) were not significantly correlated with the same five inflammatory markers in children’s saliva. Among children, adversity was associated with significantly higher levels of the inflammatory composite, though not CRP. This association was amplified among children whose caregivers also experienced more adversity during adulthood. Among caregivers, childhood adversity and adulthood adversity were each independently associated with significantly higher levels of the inflammatory composite and CRP. The association between caregivers’ own childhood adversity and inflammation was amplified among caregivers whose children also experienced more adversity during their childhoods. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the possible dual role of young children’s and caregivers’ adverse experiences in contributing to salivary inflammation for both members of the dyad, suggesting possible implications for systemic inflammation and future disease.

CITATION: Huffhines, L., Jackson, Y., McGuire, A. B. & Schreier, H. M. C. (2021). The intergenerational interplay of adversity on salivary inflammation in young children and caregivers. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 128, 105222.

Chronic Illnesses / Publications / Trauma — No Comments
11
Apr 16

Child maltreatment and pediatric asthma: A review of the literature

Background: Child maltreatment is a common problem with known adverse consequences, yet its contributions to the development and course of pediatric asthma are only poorly understood. Main: This review first describes possible pathways connecting child maltreatment to pediatric asthma, including aspects of the physical home environment, health behaviors and disease management, and psychological consequences of child maltreatment. We subsequently review existing studies, which generally report an association between maltreatment experiences and asthma outcomes in childhood. However, this literature is in its early stages; there are only a handful studies, most of them rely on self-reports of both child maltreatment and asthma history, and none have investigated the physiological underpinnings of this association. Taken together, however, the studies are suggestive of child maltreatment playing a role in pediatric asthma incidence and expression that should be explored further. Conclusion: Existing data are sparse and do not allow for specific conclusions. However, the data are suggestive of child maltreatment influencing asthma risk and morbidity long before the adult years. Future research should focus on understanding how child maltreatment contributes to asthma disease risk and progression in this highly vulnerable population.
CITATION: Schreier, H. M. C., Chen, E. & Miller, G. E. (2016). Child maltreatment and pediatric asthma: a review of the literature. Asthma Research and Practice, 2(7).
Publications / Trauma — No Comments
22
Jan 16

Lifetime exposure to traumatic and other stressful life events and hair cortisol in a multi-racial sample of pregnant women

Background Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activity is known to be altered following events such as childhood abuse. However, despite potential adverse consequences for the offspring of women who have experienced abuse, very little is known about altered HPA axis activity during pregnancy. Methods During pregnancy, 180 women from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds reported on their exposure
to emotional, physical and/or sexual abuse before the age of 11, and general post-traumatic stress symptoms (ie, not limited to childhood years or abuse experiences). Around delivery, they provided hair samples for the assessment of cortisol levels during pregnancy. Hair cortisol was assessed for each pregnancy trimester. The effect of childhood abuse on hair cortisol was assessed using mixed-effects analyses of covariance models allowing for within-subject correlated observations, and were first performed in the entire sample and subsequently stratified by race/ethnicity. Results Controlling for post-traumatic stress symptoms, hair cortisol levels varied by history of child abuse, F(2,166)=3.66, p=0.028. Childhood physical and/or sexual abuse was associated with greater hair cortisol levels, t(166)=2.65, p=0.009, compared with no history of abuse. Because childhood rates of abuse and hair cortisol levels varied by race/ethnicity, analyses were stratified by race/ethnicity. The associations between history of abuse and cortisol levels were only significant among black women, F(2,23)=5.37, p=0.012. Conclusions Childhood abuse, especially physical and/ or sexual abuse, is associated with differences in cortisol production during pregnancy, particularly among black women. Future research should investigate how these differences impact physical and mental health outcomes among offspring of affected women.

CITATION: Schreier, H. M. C., Bosquet Enlow, M., Ritz, T., Coull, B. A., Wright, R. O., & Wright, R. J. (2016). Lifetime exposure to traumatic and other stressful life events and hair cortisol in a multi-racial sample of pregnant women. Stress, 19(1), 45-52.

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