Sex and race define the effects of adverse childhood experiences on self-reported BMI and metabolic health biomarkers

[Childhood family strengths and cardiometabolic risk in adults from a clinical setting of Michoacán, Mexico]

OBJECTIVE

To determine the frequency of FFN in adults from a primary care unit in Michoacán and its relation cardiometabolic risk factors.

SETTING

Unidad de Medicina Familiar No. 80, Morelia. Mich., México.

DESIGN

Observational, retrospective, cross-sectional, and analytical.

PARTICIPANT

Three hundred twenty-fiveparticipants aged 19 years and older.

EVALUATIONS

Anthropometric measurements, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol levels were evaluated. The Childhood Family Strengths Questionnaire was utilized. FFN questionnaire was used and a protective (≥5) or non-protective (<5) score was assigned to each participant. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, and logistic regression analysis were performed.

RESULTS

The 61.4% of the sample reported a protective score in the FFN questionnaire. The non- protective FFN score was associated with an increased risk of chronic disease and systemic arterial hypertension. In women, an association was observed between FFN and fasting hyperglycemia and metabolic syndrome; while in men, there was an association of FFN with diabetes diagnosis, increased triglycerides levels and low education level.

CONCLUSIONS

A non- protective FFN score increased cardiometabolic risk in adulthood in a gender-dependent way. These findings highlight the importance of considering early childhood experiences as determinants of long-term health and emphasize the need for a gender perspective in their analysis.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Accelerated Epigenetic Aging in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos: Nativity as an Effect Modifier

BACKGROUND

Whether adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with accelerated epigenetic aging over time among the Hispanic/Latino population remains unknown. This study examined the longitudinal association between ACEs and epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), as well as potential effect modifiers, among a sample of Hispanic/Latino adults.

METHODS

We analyzed 960 Hispanic/Latino adults with DNA methylation (DNAm) profile data from two visits (approximately six years apart) sampled from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). We used PhenoAge, GrimAge, and DunedinPace, a biomarker for the pace of biological aging, to calculate epigenetic aging deviations. Linear mixed models were fit to estimate the association between ACEs and EAA measured by each epigenetic aging measure, adjusting for sex, age, and parental highest education level. Sex and nativity were also assessed as potential effect modifiers.

RESULTS

A one-unit increase in ACE score was associated with a 0.16-year (95 %CI: 0.06, 0.26, p = 0.002) higher GrimAge acceleration (AgeAccelGrim) at Visit 1. Among US-born individuals, a one-unit increase in ACE score was associated with a 0.35-year (95 %CI: 0.12, 0.58, p = 0.003) higher AgeAccelGrim and 0.01-biological year/calendar year (95 %CI: 0.01, 0.02, p = 0.0003) higher DunedinPACE at Visit 1, but statistically significantly weaker associations were found among foreign/US-territory born individuals (p for interaction=0.039 in AgeAccelGrim and 0.001 in DuendinPACE). No association was found between ACEs and the rate of change in EAA between two visits.

CONCLUSION

ACEs are associated with a higher EAA over time among Hispanic/Latino adults at a constant rate. Hispanic/Latino born in the US are more susceptible to the increased EAA related to ACEs compared with those born in a foreign country or US territory.

Sex-specific association between maternal childhood adversities and offspring's weight gain in a Brazilian cohort

Maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to negative health and developmental outcomes in offspring. However, whether maternal ACEs influence infant weight gain in the first months of life, and if this effect differs by infant sex, remains unclear. This study included 352 full-term newborns from low-risk pregnancies and their mothers in low-income settings in Brazil. Anthropometric data (weight, length, head circumference) and other information (feeding type, offspring sex, family income) were collected at delivery (W0), discharge (W1), and up to 8 weeks postpartum (W2). ACEs were assessed using the CDC-Kaiser Questionnaire, and weight gain was calculated as the difference between W2 and W1, divided by the number of days between measurements. The association between maternal ACEs and offspring weight gain was positive only in male offspring (unstandardized coefficient (male) = 1.82, SE = 0.438, p < 0.001); for each 1-point increase in the ACEs score (e.g., from 0 to 1), weight gain increased by 1.8 g/day. These findings indicate that maternal ACEs are associated with increased weight gain in male infants during the first two months of life, potentially increasing the risk of future obesity. Further research is required to investigate the underlying biological mechanisms and their neurodevelopmental implications.

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Adverse Childhood Experiences and Health-Related Outcomes: A Scoping Review

Racial and ethnic differences have been observed across patterns of substance use and exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The goal of this review was to summarize the current evidence on ACE and health outcomes across racial and ethnic groups in the United States. A scoping review of the literature following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta- Analysis for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) guideline was performed. Using predetermined search terms and parameters, an electronic database search of peer-reviewed literature between 1997 and 2022 was performed. Forty-five articles met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Thirteen articles focused on health behavior and education outcomes, fifteen reported on physical health outcomes, and eighteen reported on mental health outcomes. Relatively to mental health outcomes, race/ethnicity appeared to play a less significant role in the relationship between ACE and behavioral outcomes or physical health outcomes. There was stronger evidence that race/ethnicity may moderate relationships between ACE exposure and mental health outcomes. Across health behavior, physical health, and mental health domains, the evidence suggests that the relationship between ACE exposure and health outcomes is not uniform across different racial and ethnic groups. These findings highlight the need for future research to uncover how cultural, societal, and developmental factors interact to shape health in the context following exposure to childhood adversity.

Effects of multiple stress events at different stages of life on the incidence of metabolic syndrome

Objective

To investigate the effects of multiple stress events in different stages of life on the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS).

Methods

Miners from Tangshan, China, were recruited for this study. Workers of the Kailuan Mining Group were evaluated to investigate whether exposure to Tangshan earthquakes during the fetal period in 1976. Adult life events and childhood trauma were assessed separately via the Life Event Scale and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. The subjects were physically examined and general demographic data such as waist circumference were collected. Blood samples were collected for measurement of metabolic parameters. Corticotropin releasing hormone(CRH) levels was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The subjects were divided into four groups according to their exposure to traumatic events in different stages of life: no exposure group, 1-exposure group, 2-exposures group, and 3-exposures group. The incidence of MetS, metabolic parameters and CRH levels in each of the four groups was compared.

Results

In all, 626 people were enrolled; of these, 183, 262, 150, and 31 were in the no exposure, 1-exposure, 2-exposures, and 3-exposure groups, respectively. A remarkable variation in the incidence of MetS was observed among the four groups (x2 = 16.462, P<0.001). MetS incidence increased with the increasing number of traumatic events, except for in the no exposure group (17.9% in 1-exposure group, 24.7% in 2-exposure group, and 48.4% in the 3-exposure group). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that exposure to multiple stress during the fetal, childhood, and adult stages of life represent independent risk factors for developing MetS (OR=3.134, 95%CI=1.042-9.429). Smoking increased the risk of developing MetS (OR=1.809, 95%CI=1.140-2.871).

Conclusions

Exposure to multiple traumatic events in distinct life stages increases the risk of developing MetS. Smoking is a risk factor for developing MetS.

The adipose tissue keeps the score: priming of the adrenal-adipose tissue axis by early life stress predisposes women to obesity and cardiometabolic risk

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) refer to early life stress events, including abuse, neglect, and other psychosocial childhood traumas that can have long-lasting effects on a wide range of physiological functions. ACEs provoke sex-specific effects, whereas women have been shown to display a strong positive correlation with obesity and cardiometabolic disease. Notably, rodent models of chronic behavioral stress during postnatal life recapitulate several effects of ACEs in a sex-specific fashion. In this review, we will discuss the potential mechanisms uncovered by models of early life stress that may explain the greater susceptibility of females to obesity and metabolic risk compared with their male counterparts. We highlight the early life stress-induced neuroendocrine shaping of the adrenal-adipose tissue axis as a primary event conferring sex-dependent heightened sensitivity to obesity.

Obese Male Mice Exposed to Early Life Stress Display Sympathetic Activation and Hypertension Independent of Circulating Angiotensin II

BACKGROUND

We have previously reported that male mice exposed to maternal separation and early weaning (MSEW), a model of early life stress, show sympathetic activation and increased blood pressure in response to a chronic high-fat diet. The goal of this study was to investigate the contribution of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system to the mechanism by which MSEW increases blood pressure and vasomotor sympathetic tone in obese male mice.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Mice were exposed to MSEW during postnatal life. Undisturbed litters served as controls. At weaning, both control and MSEW offspring were placed on a low-fat diet or a high-fat diet for 20 weeks. Angiotensin peptides in serum were similar in control and MSEW mice regardless of the diet. However, a high-fat diet induced a similar increase in angiotensinogen levels in serum, renal cortex, liver, and fat in both control and MSEW mice. No evidence of renin-angiotensin system activation was found in adipose tissue and renal cortex. After chronic treatment with enalapril (2.5 mg/kg per day, drinking water, 7 days), an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor that does not cross the blood-brain barrier, induced a similar reduction in blood pressure in both groups, while the vasomotor sympathetic tone remained increased in obese MSEW mice. In addition, acute boluses of angiotensin II (1, 10, 50 μg/kg s.c.) exerted a similar pressor response in MSEW and control mice before and after enalapril treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, elevated blood pressure and vasomotor sympathetic tone remained exacerbated in MSEW mice compared with controls after the peripheral inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme, suggesting a mechanism independent of angiotensin II.

Mother's childhood adversity is associated with accelerated epigenetic aging in pregnancy and in male newborns

Background

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are correlated with accelerated epigenetic aging, but it is not clear whether altered epigenetic aging from childhood adversities persists into adulthood and can be transmitted to the next generation. Thus, we tested whether mothers' childhood adversity is associated with accelerated epigenetic aging during pregnancy and in their newborn offspring.

Methods

Data were from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) sub-study, Accessible Resource for Integrated Epigenomic Studies (ARIES). Women provided retrospective self-reports during pregnancy of ACE exposure. DNA methylation was measured in mothers during pregnancy and cord blood at birth. Estimates of epigenetic age acceleration were calculated using Principal Components of Horvath, Hannum skin & blood, GrimAge, PhenoAge, and DunedinPACE epigenetic clocks for mothers; and the Knight and Bohlin cord blood clocks for newborns. Associations between a cumulative maternal ACE score and epigenetic age acceleration were estimated using linear regression models, adjusting for maternal age at pregnancy, smoking during pregnancy, education, and pre-pregnancy BMI. Models for offspring were stratified by sex and additionally adjusted for gestation age.

Results

Mothers' total ACE score was positively associated with accelerated maternal PhenoAge and GrimAge. In newborn offspring, mothers' total ACE score was positively associated with accelerated epigenetic aging in males using the Bohlin clock, but not in females using either epigenetic clock. We found male offsprings' epigenetic age was accelerated in those born to mothers exposed to neglect using the Knight clock; and parental substance abuse using the Bohlin clock.

Conclusion

Our results show that mothers' ACE exposure is associated with DNAm age acceleration in male offspring, supporting the notion that DNAm age could be a marker of intergenerational biological embedding of mothers' childhood adversity. This is consistent with findings on vulnerability of male fetuses to environmental insults.

Associations of early life stress with leptin and ghrelin in healthy young adults

BACKGROUND

Childhood adversity is a major risk factor for cardiometabolic health problems. Stress-related changes in diet suggest a role for endocrine factors that influence dietary intake, such as leptin and ghrelin. These hormones influence metabolism and may contribute to the relationship of early adversity, mental, and cardiometabolic health. This study examined levels of leptin and ghrelin in a sample of young adults with and without early life stress (ELS).

METHODS

Young adults ages 18-40 (N = 200; 68.5% female) were recruited from the community. Participants with ELS (N = 118) had childhood maltreatment, and a subset, n = 92 (78.0%) also had parental loss, and n = 65 (55.1%) also had a current psychiatric disorder. Control participants (N = 82) had no maltreatment, parental loss, or psychiatric disorders. Standardized interviews and self-reports assessed demographics, adversity, medical/psychiatric history, and health behaviors. Exclusion criteria included medical conditions and current medications other than hormonal contraceptives. Body Mass Index (BMI) and other anthropometrics were measured, and fasting plasma was assayed for total ghrelin and leptin with the Bio-Plex Pro Human Diabetes Panel.

RESULTS

While ELS was significantly associated with greater leptin (r = .16, p = .025), a finding which held when adjusted for age and sex (F(3196)= 28.32, p = .011), this relationship was abolished when accounting for BMI (p = .44). Participants with ELS also had significantly lower total ghrelin (r = .21, p = .004), which held adjusting for age and sex (p = .002) and was attenuated (p = .045) when the model included BMI (F=46.82, p < .001). Current psychiatric disorder was also a significant predictor of greater leptin (r = .28, p < .001) and lower ghrelin (r = .29, p = .003). In the model with ELS and covariates, psychiatric disorder remained significant (F=7.26, p = .008) and ELS was no longer significant (p = .87). Associations with severity and recent perceived stress were also examined.

CONCLUSION

The relationship of ELS and leptin was no longer significant when accounting for BMI, suggesting potential avenues for intervention. Ghrelin findings persisted after correction for BMI, which may be secondary to physiological differences in the regulation of these hormones (leptin is produced by adipocytes, whereas ghrelin is produced primarily in the GI tract). Lastly, these findings suggest that psychiatric functioning may be a key component contributing to the relationship of lower total ghrelin and childhood adversity.