The association between childhood trauma and lipid levels in an adult low-income, minority population

• Published in: General hospital psychiatry Vol. 36; no. 2; pp. 150 - 155
• Main Authors: Spann, Sarah J., B.A, Gillespie, Charles F., M.D., Ph.D, Davis, Jennifer S., B.S, Brown, Angelo, B.S, Schwartz, Ann, M.D, Wingo, Aliza, M.D, Habib, Leah, M.D, Ressler, Kerry J., M.D., Ph.D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.03.2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Adult Survivors of Child Abuse - psychology; African Americans - psychology; African-American; Biological and medical sciences; Body Mass Index; Cardiovascular; Depression - psychology; Dyslipidemias - blood; Dyslipidemias - psychology; Female; Genetic; Humans; Lipids; Lipoproteins, HDL - blood; Lipoproteins, LDL - blood; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Minority Groups - psychology; Obesity - blood; Obesity - psychology; Poverty - psychology; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Risk Factors; Severity of Illness Index; Sex Factors; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; Trauma; Triglycerides - blood; United States; Urban Population; United States; Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-IV; triglyceride; SES; CTQ; Cardiovascular; BDI; Genetic; Standard Deviation; Lipids; Traumatic Events Inventory; HDL; SD; LDL; Kreek-McHugh-Schluger-Kellogg Scale; KMSK; BMI; body mass index; MPSS; high-density lipoproteins; Childhood Trauma Questionnaire; Modified PTSD Symptom Scale; Trauma; posttraumatic stress disorder; PTSD; low-density lipoproteins; TG; African-American; TEI; socioeconomic status; CAPS; Beck Depression Inventory; Human; Socioeconomic status; Poverty; Ethnic group; Sociodemographic factor; Minority; Early traumatism; Adult; Genetics; African American
• ISSN: 0163-8343; 1873-7714
• DOI: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2013.10.004

Abstract Background The objective of this study is to investigate the association between childhood trauma and lipid profiles in adults from a highly traumatized population at-risk for cardiovascular disease. Method We recruited 452 participants, primarily African-American and of low socioeconomic status, from general medical clinics in a large urban hospital. We performed direct comparisons, univariate analysis of variance and regression analyses together and separated by sex, examining the associations of child abuse, body mass index, lipid lowering drug use, blood pressure, age, and substance use to HDL levels and HDL/LDL ratios. Results A history of moderate to severe levels of childhood trauma and abuse was associated with a significant decrease in HDL levels ( P ≤ .01) and HDL/LDL ratios ( P ≤ .001) relative to males with low levels of abuse. This relationship held when the status of lipid-lowering drugs was considered. When controlling for age, substance abuse, tobacco use, and adult trauma, the effects of childhood trauma remained significant. We found a significant child abuse by sex interaction on HDL/LDL ratios [F(1,369)=13.0, P ≤ .0005] consistent with a differential effect of trauma on dyslipidemia in male but not female subjects. Conclusions Our data suggest that childhood trauma exposure, obtained with self-report measures, may contribute to increased risk of cardiovascular disease by way of stress-mediated alterations of lipid concentration and composition in male, but not female, subjects.