Gender-specific association between childhood trauma and rheumatoid arthritis: A case–control study

Abstract Objective Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been associated with a variety of emotional stressors, but findings remain inconclusive if RA is related to childhood trauma, which is known to have long-lasting negative consequences for physical health decades into adulthood. We investigated the ass...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of psychosomatic research 2013-04, Vol.74 (4), p.296-300
Main Authors: Spitzer, Carsten, Wegert, Stefanie, Wollenhaupt, Jürgen, Wingenfeld, Katja, Barnow, Sven, Grabe, Hans Joergen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult Survivors of Child Abuse - psychology
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - etiology
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - psychology
Case-Control Studies
Case–control study
Child
Child Abuse - psychology
Childhood trauma
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression - psychology
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Psychiatry
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
Self Report
Sex Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Abstract Objective Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been associated with a variety of emotional stressors, but findings remain inconclusive if RA is related to childhood trauma, which is known to have long-lasting negative consequences for physical health decades into adulthood. We investigated the association between childhood trauma and RA by comparing histories of child abuse and neglect between RA patients and adults from the general population in a cross-sectional case–control study. Methods 331 patients with definite RA and 662 gender- and age-matched adults from the general population were administered the self-report Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) for the assessment of emotional, physical and sexual abuse as well as emotional and physical neglect. Results Adjusting for gender and current depression, RA patients scored significantly higher in all CTQ subscales apart from sexual abuse and physical neglect than the controls. Adjusted odds ratios for these types of childhood trauma were higher in the RA group than in controls ranging from 2.0 for emotional neglect (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.4–3.0) to 2.6 for emotional abuse (95% CI: 1.4–4.7). Gender-specific analyses revealed basically the same pattern for women, but not for men. Conclusion Our findings suggest an association between childhood trauma and development of RA, particularly in women. This relationship may be mediated by dysregulations of neuro-endocrine-immune networks, but larger prospective studies are needed to clarify the association between early life stress and the risk for RA in genetically susceptible individuals.
ISSN:0022-3999
1879-1360
DOI:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2012.10.007