TY - JOUR
T1 - Association between childhood trauma exposure and pro-inflammatory cytokines in schizophrenia and bipolar-I disorder
AU - Quidé, Yann
AU - Bortolasci, Chiara C.
AU - Spolding, Briana
AU - Kidnapillai, Srisaiyini
AU - Watkeys, Oliver J.
AU - Cohen-Woods, Sarah
AU - Berk, Michael
AU - Carr, Vaughan J.
AU - Walder, Ken
AU - Green, Melissa
PY - 2019/12/1
Y1 - 2019/12/1
N2 - BackgroundElevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines are consistently reported in schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar-I disorder (BD), as well as among individuals who have been exposed to childhood trauma. However, higher levels of inflammatory markers in these disorders are yet to be investigated with respect to levels of exposure to different types of childhood trauma.MethodsParticipants were 68 cases with a diagnosis of schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder (SZ), 69 cases with a diagnosis of psychotic BD and 72 healthy controls (HC). Serum levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were quantified, and childhood trauma exposure was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.ResultsThe SZ group had significantly higher levels of IL-6, TNF-α and CRP when compared with the HC group (all p < 0.05, d = 0.41-0.63), as well as higher levels of TNF-α when compared with the BD group (p = 0.014, d = 0.50); there were no differences between the BD and HC groups for any markers. Exposure to sexual abuse was positively associated (standardised β = 0.326, t = 2.459, p = 0.018) with levels of CRP in the SZ group, but there were no significant associations between any form of trauma exposure and cytokine levels in the HC or BD groups.Conclusions These results contribute to the evidence for a chronic state of inflammation in SZ but not BD cases. Differential associations between trauma exposure and levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines across the diagnostic categories suggest that trauma may impact biological (stress and immune) systems differently in these patient groups.
AB - BackgroundElevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines are consistently reported in schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar-I disorder (BD), as well as among individuals who have been exposed to childhood trauma. However, higher levels of inflammatory markers in these disorders are yet to be investigated with respect to levels of exposure to different types of childhood trauma.MethodsParticipants were 68 cases with a diagnosis of schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder (SZ), 69 cases with a diagnosis of psychotic BD and 72 healthy controls (HC). Serum levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were quantified, and childhood trauma exposure was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.ResultsThe SZ group had significantly higher levels of IL-6, TNF-α and CRP when compared with the HC group (all p < 0.05, d = 0.41-0.63), as well as higher levels of TNF-α when compared with the BD group (p = 0.014, d = 0.50); there were no differences between the BD and HC groups for any markers. Exposure to sexual abuse was positively associated (standardised β = 0.326, t = 2.459, p = 0.018) with levels of CRP in the SZ group, but there were no significant associations between any form of trauma exposure and cytokine levels in the HC or BD groups.Conclusions These results contribute to the evidence for a chronic state of inflammation in SZ but not BD cases. Differential associations between trauma exposure and levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines across the diagnostic categories suggest that trauma may impact biological (stress and immune) systems differently in these patient groups.
KW - Bipolar disorder
KW - c-reactive protein
KW - childhood maltreatment
KW - immunity
KW - inflammation
KW - interleukin 6
KW - schizophrenia
KW - tumour necrosis factor-α
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85075510184&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/NHMRC/386500
UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/NHMRC/630471
UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/NHMRC/1081603
UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/NHMRC/1061875
UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/NHMRC/1059660
UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/NHMRC/1156072
UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/ARC/CE110001021
U2 - 10.1017/S0033291718003690
DO - 10.1017/S0033291718003690
M3 - Article
VL - 49
SP - 2736
EP - 2744
JO - Psychological Medicine
JF - Psychological Medicine
SN - 0033-2917
IS - 16
ER -