Additive Contributions of Childhood Adversity and Recent Stressors to Inflammation at Midlife: Findings From the MIDUS Study

We examined the joint contributions of self-reported adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and recent life events (RLEs) to inflammation at midlife, by testing 3 competing theoretical models: stress generation, stress accumulation, and early life stress sensitization. We aimed to identify potential m...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Developmental psychology 2015-11, Vol.51 (11), p.1630-1644
Main Authors: Hostinar, Camelia E., Lachman, Margie E., Mroczek, Daniel K., Seeman, Teresa E., Miller, Gregory E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accumulation
Additives
Adrenaline
Adults
Adversity
Aged
Aging (Individuals)
Alcohol use
Anatomy
Anxiety
Biological markers
Biology
Biomarkers - blood
Biomarkers - urine
Body Composition
C-reactive protein
Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale
Central nervous system
Childhood Adversity
Childhood experiences
Consumption
Cortisol
Cytokines
Demographics
Demography
Depression
Depression (Psychology)
Developmental psychology
Drinking
Early Experience
Early life experiences
Exercise
Experience
Family Conflict - psychology
Female
Fibrinogen
Human
Human Body
Humans
Hydrocortisone
Hydrocortisone - urine
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis
Inflammation
Inflammation - blood
Inflammation - urine
Life Change Events
Life events
Life Experiences
Life stress
Life Style
Lifestyle
Lifestyles
Longitudinal Studies
Major Depression
Male
Measures (Individuals)
Mental depression
Middle Adulthood
Middle age
Middle Aged
Midlife
Multiple Regression Analysis
National Surveys
Nervous system
Older Adults
Older people
Physical Activity Level
Proteins
Risk Factors
Smoking
Statistical Analysis
Stress
Stress Variables
Stress, Psychological - blood
Stress, Psychological - psychology
Stress, Psychological - urine
Structural Equation Models
Sympathetic Nervous System
Symptoms (Individual Disorders)
United States
United States (East)
United States (Midwest)
United States (West Coast)
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We examined the joint contributions of self-reported adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and recent life events (RLEs) to inflammation at midlife, by testing 3 competing theoretical models: stress generation, stress accumulation, and early life stress sensitization. We aimed to identify potential mediators between adversity and inflammation. Participants were 1,180 middle-aged and older adults from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Biomarker Project (M age = 57.3 years, SD = 11.5; 56% female). A composite measure of inflammation was derived from 5 biomarkers: serum levels of C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, fibrinogen, E-selectin, and ICAM-1. Participants provided self-report data regarding ACEs, RLEs, current lifestyle indices (cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, physical exercise, waist circumference), current depressive symptoms, and demographic/biomedical characteristics. We also used indices of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical outflow (12-hr urinary cortisol) and sympathetic nervous system output (12-hr urinary norepinephrine and epinephrine). Analyses indicated that ACEs and RLEs were independently associated with higher levels of inflammation, controlling for each other's effects. Their interaction was not significant. The results were consistent with the hypothesis that associations between ACEs and inflammation were mediated through higher urinary norepinephrine output, greater waist circumference, smoking, and lower levels of exercise, whereas higher waist circumference and more smoking partially mediated the association between RLEs and inflammation. In support of the stress accumulation model, ACEs and RLEs had unique and additive contributions to inflammation at midlife, with no evidence of synergistic effects. Results also suggested that norepinephrine output and lifestyle indices may help explain how prior stressors foster inflammation at midlife.
ISSN:0012-1649
1939-0599
DOI:10.1037/dev0000049