Adverse childhood experiences and obesity linked to indicators of gut permeability and inflammation in adult women

Bryant H Keirns; Natalie G Keirns; Cindy E Tsotsoros; Harley M Layman; Madison E Stout; Austin R Medlin; Christina M Sciarrillo; T Kent Teague; Sam R Emerson; Misty A W Hawkins

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114319

Adverse childhood experiences and obesity linked to indicators of gut permeability and inflammation in adult women

Physiol Behav. 2023 Nov 1:271:114319. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114319. Epub 2023 Aug 8.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutrition and Health Science, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306, United States of America. Electronic address: bryant.keirns@bsu.edu.
² Lifespan Cardiovascular Institute, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI, United States of America.
³ Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Rhode Island, 2 Lower College Road, Kingston, RI 02881, United States of America.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, 116 Psychology Building, Stillwater, OK, US 74078, United States of America.
⁵ Department of Health & Wellness Design, Indiana University School of Public Health, 1025 E. Seventh St., Bloomington, IN 47405, United States of America.
⁶ Department of Nutritional Sciences, Oklahoma State University, 301 Nancy Randolph Davis, Stillwater, OK, US 74078, United States of America.
⁷ Department of Surgery, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, OK 74135, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, OK 74135, United States of America; Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK 74107.

PMID: 37562704
PMCID: PMC10592146 (available on 2024-11-01)
DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114319

Abstract

Gut permeability may increase cardiovascular disease risk by allowing bacterial components (e.g., lipopolysaccharide or LPS) to enter the bloodstream, leading to low-grade inflammation. People with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) consistently display evidence of chronic inflammation, but the source of this inflammation, and whether gut permeability may contribute, is unknown. Moreover, whether ACE status may further perturb obesity-associated gut permeability and inflammation is unknown. Women (N = 79, aged 18-84y) free of cardiometabolic diseases and inflammatory conditions and not regularly taking anti-inflammatory medications were included in a 2 × 2 factorial design with low or high ACE status (either 0 ACEs or 3+ ACEs) and body mass index (BMI) (either normal-weight [18.5-24.9 kg/m²; NW] or obesity [>30 kg/m²; OB]) as factors (n = 15-27/group). Serum LPS binding protein (LBP), soluble CD14 (sCD14), fatty-acid binding protein-2 (FABP2), LPS core IgM, and the ratio of LBP:sCD14 were used as indicators of gut permeability. Inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interleukin (IL)-6 were also measured. Data were analyzed using 2-way ANCOVA (age-adjusted). LBP, LBP:sCD14 and FABP2 were higher in OB versus NW, regardless of ACE status (P_BMI < 0.05). Higher ACE status was associated with increased circulating LBP:sCD14 and LPS core IgM (P_ACE < 0.05). sCD14 was unrelated to BMI or ACEs. CRP was elevated in OB versus NW (P_BMI < 0.001) and tended to be higher with 3+ ACEs compared to 0 ACEs (P_ACE = 0.06). Moreover, TNF-α was greater in 3+ ACEs relative to 0 ACEs (P_ACE = 0.03). IL-6 was unrelated to BMI or ACE status. No interaction effects were observed for any marker of gut permeability or inflammation. In sum, ACE status and obesity were independently associated with evidence of gut permeability and systemic inflammation but did not interact in relation to indicators of gut permeability.

Keywords: Adverse childhood experiences; Cardiovascular disease; Gut permeability; Inflammation; Obesity.

Abstract

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