Childhood adversities and post-traumatic stress disorder: evidence for stress sensitisation in the World Mental Health Surveys

Katie A McLaughlin; Karestan C Koenen; Evelyn J Bromet; Elie G Karam; Howard Liu; Maria Petukhova; Ayelet Meron Ruscio; Nancy A Sampson; Dan J Stein; Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola; Jordi Alonso; Guilherme Borges; Koen Demyttenaere; Rumyana V Dinolova; Finola Ferry; Silvia Florescu; Giovanni de Girolamo; Oye Gureje; Norito Kawakami; Sing Lee; Fernando Navarro-Mateu; Marina Piazza; Beth-Ellen Pennell; José Posada-Villa; Margreet Ten Have; Maria Carmen Viana; Ronald C Kessler

doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.116.197640

Childhood adversities and post-traumatic stress disorder: evidence for stress sensitisation in the World Mental Health Surveys

Br J Psychiatry. 2017 Nov;211(5):280-288. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.116.197640. Epub 2017 Sep 21.

Authors

Katie A McLaughlin¹, Karestan C Koenen², Evelyn J Bromet², Elie G Karam², Howard Liu², Maria Petukhova², Ayelet Meron Ruscio², Nancy A Sampson², Dan J Stein², Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola², Jordi Alonso², Guilherme Borges², Koen Demyttenaere², Rumyana V Dinolova², Finola Ferry², Silvia Florescu², Giovanni de Girolamo², Oye Gureje², Norito Kawakami², Sing Lee², Fernando Navarro-Mateu², Marina Piazza², Beth-Ellen Pennell², José Posada-Villa², Margreet Ten Have², Maria Carmen Viana², Ronald C Kessler²

Affiliations

¹ Katie A. McLaughlin, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA; Karestan C. Koenen, PhD, Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Evelyn J. Bromet, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook, New York, USA; Elie G. Karam, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Balamand University, Beirut, Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, St George Hospital University Medical Center, Beirut and Institute for Development Research Advocacy and Applied Care (IDRAAC), Beirut, Lebanon; Howard Liu, SM, Maria Petukhova, PhD, Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Ayelet Meron Ruscio, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Nancy A. Sampson, BA, Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dan J. Stein, FRCPC, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, Republic of South Africa; Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, MD, PhD, Center for Reducing Health Disparities, UC Davis Health System, Sacramento, California, USA; Jordi Alonso, MD, DrPH, IMIM-Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Pare de Salut Mar, Barcelona, Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), Barcelona and CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain; Guilherme Borges, DrSc, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría, San Lorenzo Huipulco, Mexico; Koen Demytteraere, MD, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Rumyana V. Dinolova, MD, National Center of Public Health and Analyses, Sofia, Bulgaria; Finola Ferry, PhD, Bamford Centre for Mental Health and wellbeing, ulster University, Coleraine, UK; Silvia Florescu, MD, PhD, National School of Public Health, Management and Development, Bucharest, Romania; Giovanni de Girolamo, MD, Unit of Epidemiological and Evaluation Psychiatry, IRCCS-St. John of God Clinical Research Centre, Brescia, Italy; Oye Gureje, MD, PhD, FRCPsych, Department of Psychiatry, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria; Norito Kawakami, MD, DMSc, Department of Mental Health, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Sing Lee, MB, BS, Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong; Fernando Navarro-Mateu, MD, PhD, UDIF-SM, Subdirección General de Planificación, Innovación y Cronicidad, Servicio Murciano de Salud, Murcia, IMIB-Arrixaca, Murcia and CIBERESP-Murcia, Murcia, Spain; Marina Piazza, ScD, MPH, Universidad Cayetano Heredia; National Institute of Health, Lima, Peru; Beth-Ellen Pennell, MA, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; José Posada-Villa, MD, Faculty of Social Sciences Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca University, Bogota, Colombia; Margreet ten Have, PhD, Trimbos-Instituut, Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Maria Carmen viana, MD, PhD, Department of Social Medicine, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Vitoria, Brazil; Ronald C. Kessler, PhD, Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA mclaughk@uw.edu.
² Katie A. McLaughlin, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA; Karestan C. Koenen, PhD, Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Evelyn J. Bromet, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook, New York, USA; Elie G. Karam, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Balamand University, Beirut, Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, St George Hospital University Medical Center, Beirut and Institute for Development Research Advocacy and Applied Care (IDRAAC), Beirut, Lebanon; Howard Liu, SM, Maria Petukhova, PhD, Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Ayelet Meron Ruscio, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Nancy A. Sampson, BA, Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dan J. Stein, FRCPC, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, Republic of South Africa; Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, MD, PhD, Center for Reducing Health Disparities, UC Davis Health System, Sacramento, California, USA; Jordi Alonso, MD, DrPH, IMIM-Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Pare de Salut Mar, Barcelona, Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), Barcelona and CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain; Guilherme Borges, DrSc, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría, San Lorenzo Huipulco, Mexico; Koen Demytteraere, MD, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Rumyana V. Dinolova, MD, National Center of Public Health and Analyses, Sofia, Bulgaria; Finola Ferry, PhD, Bamford Centre for Mental Health and wellbeing, ulster University, Coleraine, UK; Silvia Florescu, MD, PhD, National School of Public Health, Management and Development, Bucharest, Romania; Giovanni de Girolamo, MD, Unit of Epidemiological and Evaluation Psychiatry, IRCCS-St. John of God Clinical Research Centre, Brescia, Italy; Oye Gureje, MD, PhD, FRCPsych, Department of Psychiatry, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria; Norito Kawakami, MD, DMSc, Department of Mental Health, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Sing Lee, MB, BS, Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong; Fernando Navarro-Mateu, MD, PhD, UDIF-SM, Subdirección General de Planificación, Innovación y Cronicidad, Servicio Murciano de Salud, Murcia, IMIB-Arrixaca, Murcia and CIBERESP-Murcia, Murcia, Spain; Marina Piazza, ScD, MPH, Universidad Cayetano Heredia; National Institute of Health, Lima, Peru; Beth-Ellen Pennell, MA, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; José Posada-Villa, MD, Faculty of Social Sciences Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca University, Bogota, Colombia; Margreet ten Have, PhD, Trimbos-Instituut, Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Maria Carmen viana, MD, PhD, Department of Social Medicine, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Vitoria, Brazil; Ronald C. Kessler, PhD, Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough childhood adversities are known to predict increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after traumatic experiences, it is unclear whether this association varies by childhood adversity or traumatic experience types or by age.AimsTo examine variation in associations of childhood adversities with PTSD according to childhood adversity types, traumatic experience types and life-course stage.MethodEpidemiological data were analysed from the World Mental Health Surveys (n = 27 017).ResultsFour childhood adversities (physical and sexual abuse, neglect, parent psychopathology) were associated with similarly increased odds of PTSD following traumatic experiences (odds ratio (OR) = 1.8), whereas the other eight childhood adversities assessed did not predict PTSD. Childhood adversity-PTSD associations did not vary across traumatic experience types, but were stronger in childhood-adolescence and early-middle adulthood than later adulthood.ConclusionsChildhood adversities are differentially associated with PTSD, with the strongest associations in childhood-adolescence and early-middle adulthood. Consistency of associations across traumatic experience types suggests that childhood adversities are associated with generalised vulnerability to PTSD following traumatic experiences.

Publication types

Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / statistics & numerical data
Adult Survivors of Child Adverse Events / statistics & numerical data*
Age Factors
Child of Impaired Parents / statistics & numerical data*
Global Health / statistics & numerical data
Health Surveys / statistics & numerical data
Humans
Mental Health / statistics & numerical data*
Psychological Trauma / epidemiology*
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / epidemiology*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding