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An investigation of depression and inflammation as potential mediators linking adverse childhood experiences with cognitive decline in adulthood: results from a prospective cohort study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

E. Lowry ,
A. Mc Inerney ,
N. Schmitz  and
S. Deschenes
E. Lowry
Affiliation:
University College Dublin, Psychology, Belfield, Ireland
A. Mc Inerney
Affiliation:
University College Dublin, Psychology, Belfield, Ireland
N. Schmitz
Affiliation:
University of Tübingen, Medicine, Tubingen, Germany
S. Deschenes*
Affiliation:
University College Dublin, Psychology, Belfield, Ireland
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with numerous health consequences in adulthood including cognitive decline. However, the underlying mechanisms implicated remain unclear.

Objectives

In this study, depressive symptoms and systemic inflammation were investigated as potential independent mediators of the association between ACEs and cognitive decline.

Methods

Participants were adults aged 50+ from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (N = 3,029; 54.8% female). Measures included self-reported ACEs at wave 3 (2006-2007), C-reactive protein (CRP) and depressive symptoms at wave 4 (2008-2009), and cognitive function at waves 3 and 7 (2014-2015). Mediation analyses examined the direct associations between ACEs and cognitive function at wave 7 and the indirect associations via depressive symptoms and CRP at wave 4 and were conducted using ordinary least squares regression models with the SPSS PROCESS macro. In Step 1, models were adjusted for sociodemographic factors and baseline cognitive function. Models in Step 2 were additionally adjusted for obesity and health behaviours (n = 1,874).

Results

Cumulative ACEs exposure was shown to positively predict later-life depressive symptoms, which in turn predicted cognitive decline. ACEs were also shown to positively predict systemic inflammation as measured by CRP. However, CRP did not mediate the association between ACEs and cognitive decline.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that ACEs are related to cognitive decline partly via depressive symptoms and corroborate prior research linking ACEs with adult systemic inflammation. Efforts towards screening for, preventing, and mitigating the effects of ACEs may therefore represent an important avenue for improving health outcomes in later life.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

adverse childhood experiencesinflammationDepressioncognitive decline
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S209
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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