Childhood adversity, adult stressful life events, and risk of past-year psychiatric disorder: a test of the stress sensitization hypothesis in a population-based sample of adults.
نویسندگان
چکیده
BACKGROUND Childhood adversity (CA) is associated with adult mental disorders, but the mechanisms underlying this association remain inadequately understood. Stress sensitization, whereby CA increases vulnerability to mental disorders following adult stressful life events, has been proposed as a potential mechanism. We provide a test of the stress sensitization hypothesis in a national sample. METHOD We investigated whether the association between past-year stressful life events and the 12-month prevalence of major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other anxiety disorders, and perceived stress varies according to exposure to CA. We used data from the National Epidemiological Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) (n=34 653). RESULTS Past-year stressful life events were associated with an increased risk of major depression, PTSD, anxiety disorders, and perceived stress. However, the magnitude of the increased risk varied according to respondents' history of CA. For example, past-year major stressors were associated with a 27.3% increase in the 12-month risk of depression among individuals with 3 CAs and a 14.8% increased risk among individuals without CAs. Stress sensitization effects were present for depression, PTSD, and other anxiety disorders in women and men, although gender differences were found in the threshold of past-year stress needed to trigger such effects. Stress sensitization was most evident among individuals with 3 CAs. CONCLUSIONS CA is associated with increased vulnerability to the deleterious mental health effects of adult stressors in both men and women. High levels of CA may represent a general diathesis for multiple types of psychopathology that persists throughout the life course.
منابع مشابه
Interactive effects of childhood maltreatment and recent stressful life events on alcohol consumption in adulthood.
OBJECTIVE Childhood maltreatment is associated with early alcohol use initiation, alcohol-related problem behaviors, and alcohol use disorders in adulthood. Heavy drinking risk among individuals exposed to childhood maltreatment could be partly attributable to stress sensitization, whereby early adversity leads to psychobiological changes that heighten sensitivity to subsequent stressors and in...
متن کاملThe stress sensitization hypothesis: understanding the course of bipolar disorder.
BACKGROUND The influence of psychosocial stress on the course of bipolar disorder has been increasingly recognized. The authors tested hypotheses about both stress and early adversity "sensitization" on the course of bipolar disorder over a one-year period. METHODS The participants were 58 adults (29 male and 29 female) with a diagnosis of bipolar I disorder. They were evaluated every three m...
متن کاملChildhood adversity, adult stress, and the risk of major depression or generalized anxiety disorder in US soldiers: a test of the stress sensitization hypothesis.
BACKGROUND The stress sensitization theory hypothesizes that individuals exposed to childhood adversity will be more vulnerable to mental disorders from proximal stressors. We aimed to test this theory with respect to risk of 30-day major depressive episode (MDE) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) among new US Army soldiers. METHODS The sample consisted of 30 436 new soldier recruits in t...
متن کاملChildhood maltreatment, stressful life events, and alcohol craving in adult drinkers.
BACKGROUND Little is known about the relationship between stressful life events and alcohol craving in the general population, and whether a history of childhood maltreatment sensitizes individuals to crave alcohol after adult stressors. METHODS Participants were 22,147 past-year drinkers from Wave 2 (2004 to 2005) of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. A stru...
متن کاملAssociations between childhood adversity, adult stressful life events, and past-year drug use disorders in the National Epidemiological Study of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC).
Stress sensitization, whereby CA lowers tolerance to later stressors, has been proposed as a potential mechanism explaining the association between exposure to childhood adversities (CA) and drug use disorders in adulthood. However, this mechanism remains untested. This paper begins to address this gap through exploring associations between CA exposure and stressful events in adulthood for pred...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید
ثبت ناماگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید
ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Psychological medicine
دوره 40 10 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2010